A Sorta Fairytale
by anything-new
Summary: Morgan and Garcia's idyllic - and secret - romance is faced with unknown challenges when Strauss uses fake pictures to transfer Garcia. Title is blatantly stolen from the Tori Amos song. I don't own anything if I did, this would have been a screenplay
1. Wait, what?

"Agent Morgan, could you please come into my office?"

Erin Strauss's cold, meticulous tone did little to hide the fact her words were not a request but an order, even through he bias of a phoneline her voice could chill molten lava within seconds.

"Yes Ma'am, I'll be right there," Morgan answered, sighing, a quick glance at the clock showing it was barely 9 AM, any day off to such a start could only go wrong and the team hadn't even sat down for their morning briefing yet.

Standing up, he shrugged his shoulders in response to Prentiss's and Reid's questioning glances, making his way through the bullpen towards the office of the wicked witch of the BAU. Rounding the corner, he was surprised to see Garcia knocking on Strauss's door. He quickly sped up, and placed his hand over hers on the doorknob before giving her a puzzled look. Reading in her eyes she was nervous about this meeting, he quickly dropped a kiss to her temple and opened the door.

"Agent Morgan. TA Garcia. Take a seat," Erin Strauss gestured to the chairs in front of her. Morgan could have sworn she sounded _pleased_ of herself, and made a mental note to be even more careful than normal around her.

The older woman sat back in her chair, her hands joined at the fingertips, she paused and took a long look at both Morgan and Garcia. Derek looked straight back at her, but Penelope was staring hard at her hands in her lap. He desperately wanted to take her hand in his to comfort her, but when Strauss opened her mouth he was glad he didn't.

"It has been brought to my attention the both of you are pursuing a ..." Another pause, during which she pursed her lips disapprovingly. "A relationship far beyond professional boundaries."

Penelope gawked, and turned blood red. She opened her mouth, closed it again, then blurted out "How...?"  
Morgan, at the same time, felt his temper flare up. "With all due respect, that is none..."

Their section chief held up both her hands "I am not finished yet."

Pen shot Morgan a questioning look, he tried to reassure her with a small smile, but Strauss was relentless.

"How this was brought to my attention is irrelevant here, and I am afraid it becomes very much my _business_, Agent Morgan, when you bring _your_ _business_ into your workspace."

"Ma'am, we have been nothing but professional while we were at work, and ..." Pen's voice trailed off when Strauss shot her a positively murderous look, which puzzled Morgan even more. He felt his heart sink, the woman in front of him was up to something and she seemed convinced she would get what she wanted.

"There have been numerous complaints over the years about your ... _conversations_..." Strauss started, spitting the word out as if it was an unmentionable disease, "and now about inappropriate ... _touches_ as well. And then, then someone sent me _this_."

Taking one look at the screen in front of them, Penelope turned an even brighter shade of red, let out a small cry, and turned away as quick as she could. Morgan, born shameless, first grinned, then remembered the seriousness of the situation and kept looking at what appeared to be a still shot from a video, depicting him and Penelope, half naked, in a rather compromising situation, right in the middle of his desk in the bullpen. He started shaking his head. This had to be some sort of sick joke, they had never...

Strauss clicked a remote, "And then there's _this_," revealing another image, a picture this time, of the two of them making out like bewildered teens, his hands under her skirt, on the round table in the conference room.

"I will spare you the video, Agent Morgan, TA Garcia," Strauss continued, looking at the both of them before Morgan interrupted her sharply.

"We never did any of that here, I don't know what you're getting at here, _Ma'am_," he spat out, defiantly.

His superior leaned over her desk, looking him close in the eyes.

"What I am _getting at_," her tone dripped with venom, "is that given the indubitable proof provided by these visual ... _references_, I have no other choice than to transfer one of you."

She leaned back, a small smile on her lips revealing the pleasure she was taking in the shocked look on their faces. Morgan was fuming now, while Pen looked at him, her mouth open.

"Miss Garcia, you start Monday in our California offices. I understand you still have family there, so you will not have too many difficulties. You can go clean out your office now, I do not expect you to come in tomorrow, so you have three days to pack. We have secured you a temporary living arrangement and... " Pen didn't hear the rest, as she leapt out of her chair and ran out the door, tears streaming down her face.

Morgan slammed his fist on a surprised Strauss's desk, whose victorious smile was wiped off her face when she saw the rage in his face.

"I won't let you get away with this, you know we were set up!" he yelled at her, before getting up himself to run after his crying girlfriend.

"Agent Morgan!" she shouted after him, but he didn't stop. "I can offer you a solution..."

He stopped straight in his tracks, turning around in the doorway with a puzzled look on his face.

"Close the door, Derek," she continued, her voice sultry, her smile back on her face. He knew he shouldn't, but he still walked back to her desk. She stood up, came up to him so they were standing face to face.

"I may reconsider the transfer of your little ... _crush_," she said, looking up at him, her hands suddenly on his chest, "should you provide me certain ... _services_," she continued, batting her eyelashes in anticipation, leaning up a little as if to kiss him.

"_HELL no!_" he shoved her off of him, looking at her with disgust and started running after Pen.


	2. Crisis Watch

**A/N: Many thanks for all the reviews, alerts and even some favourites thrown in – that was more than I ever expected considering this is the first fanfic I wrote/am writing. What a welcome ;) **

**Also, thanks to Shin (BonesBird) and LC for reviewing the first few chapters before I let them loose on the general public. And thanks even more for saying it was good enough to do so!**

**Unfortunately, I do not own these characters. If I did, I'd certainly keep JJ and Emily and have Morgan and Garcia hump like rabbits in her office. ANYWAY. Hope this one lives up to the expectations. I might not update this weekend as chapter 3 is still lodged somewhere in my head and I am driving to the coast. Enjoy :)**

Morgan caught up with Pen just as she was about to enter into her lair, her shoulders shaking from crying. Prentiss and Reid, who had seen the both of them rushing along the bullpen had caught up with them, but both lovers were too upset to notice the pair.

"California, Derek. California!" Pen cried as he turned her around, pulling her close in his arms. "What is going to happen to us now?"

Prentiss started coming closer to them, her arm lifted as if to pat Garcia's back in a comforting gesture, but she stopped in the middle of her movement when Derek lifted his hands to cup Pen's face, his right thumb slowly outlining her trembling bottom lip.

"Whatever happens, you know we will be alright, baby girl, you know that right?" he said, pulling her closer to kiss her, no longer caring about who could possibly see them.

Prentiss gasped, not expecting the kiss, retracting her arm with a nervous grin towards Reid who blushed, looked down, up, anywhere but at Morgan and Garcia. "Go get Hotch," she mouthed at him, and he scrambled away while she turned around to look at them again and scraped her throat. Morgan looked at her sideways, his forehead still resting against Pen's, not wanting to break contact.

"I'm sorry, I.. I," she started, her hands up in a conciliatory gesture, "I just ... saw you crying Pen and then you looked positively murderous Morgan so Reid here and I ..."

"What is going on here?" Hotch arrived at a quick pace, surveying the situation, his eyebrows knitted when seeing two of his agents in an intimate pose, one with swollen eyes and tear streaks on her face. Reid now came back too, an alarmed JJ trailing behind him.

"Pen's being transferred to the California bureau as of Monday," Morgan answered, still not letting go of her. JJ and Emily gasped, exchanging a quick look before JJ hurried over to Pen. Reid looked at them, mouth open, trying to think of something clever to say but for once words eluded him. Hotch raised on eyebrow. "Why? I didn't see any transfer request on my desk?" he asked.

"We broke the frat rules, Hotch, and Strauss has some sort of ... picture proof we didn't keep it out of the office," Pen whispered almost, nervously looking at all of them.

Hotch took two seconds to think, before barking an order. "Conference room, everyone, now."

The team filed into the conference room, shocked by the news they had just received. Morgan was still holding Garcia close to him, sitting her in his lap instead of next to him so he could comfort her but truth was he needed to feel her in his arms to soothe his own mind.

"Let's start from the beginning, shall we?" Hotch started their impromptu meeting, "What is going on here?" He looked at Derek, knowing well that the profiler wouldn't waste time with unnecessary detail, but it was Pen who answered first.

"We started dating two months ago, after Alaska..." her voice trailed off, looking at Derek who gave her an encouraging nod. "We've kept it a secret for everyone, especially because ... "

"Kevin took it really badly when Pen broke up with him." Morgan filled in for her, drawing her a little closer in his embrace. The gesture didn't escape from the attention of their friends.

"How badly?" Emily asked immediately.

Pen shrugged. "You know, the usual. He first wouldn't believe me, then he pleaded to take him back, then he blamed Derek, and then he kept insisting I was making a mistake, that Derek didn't want me, and he'd be there when I realised I'd die a crazy old cat lady..." She snickered a little recalling that conversation. "But mostly he was just sad and I didn't want to rub it in so we didn't say anything, not even to you." She smiled almost apologetically.

Hotch nodded. "Then how does Strauss know?"

Derek ran his hands over his face. "I don't know man, she can't possibly know but this morning she called us in and said she'd had complaints about our flirting before and then about us touching and then she pulled out those pictures..." He watched Pen intently before he continued, knowing she'd be embarrassed, but she looked away, to the floor.

He took a deep breath before he continued: "there was one, from what looked like a video, that showed us going at it on my desk. And another one where we're sitting on this very table, doin' stuff.."

He laughed a little when he saw Reid quickly retract his hands from where they were laying on the table.

"Don't worry Reid, we never did any o' that," he reassured the genius, who smiled back meekly.

"You didn't? Then how..." Prentiss looked from him to Hotch then to Reid, as if they could provide an explanation.

"I don't know Prentiss, but really, do you think we'd be that stupid? We may be in love," he smiled, glad he finally didn't have to hold back any more, "but we're no fools."

"Evidently, someone must have staged a photo-manipulation, nowadays there is powerful software available,..." Spencer rattled, his hands back on the table, looking from Derek and Pen to Hotch, then to JJ who had been silent thus far.

"Before we can determine that, we have to know what proof she has," said Hotch, mulling over the facts.

"She said there was a video too, I guess the one the still was taken from, but she wanted _to spare us_," Pen scoffed, getting madder now the situation was more calmly explained and she was freaking out less.

They were harshly interrupted by the door opening and Strauss herself marching in, followed by a nervous looking officer in a grey suit. Pen jumped up, not wanting to give Strauss more evidence beyond what she had.

"Agents, let me present Officer Milton to you, from the Salt Lake City PD. He is here requesting our help with a brutal case, and I have taken the case. You will leave in three hours."

The whole room looked at her and the officer, a shocked look on their faces.

"Chief Strauss, that is not how we take cases, Agent Jare-.." Hotch stood up, looking his nemesis straight in the face.

"Let me be the judge of that, Agent _Hotchner_," she answered, without blinking, handing him the case file, then she turned towards Morgan and Garcia.

"I will have a new technical analyst assigned to your unit within the hour, as for you, Miss Garcia, I suggest you hurry and empty your office so they can work properly. Your transfer papers to California will wait for you when you hand in your pass."

With a triumphant smile on her face, she turned around and exited the office as fast as she had come in, Officer Milton close behind her.

"_Bitch!",_ JJ swore out loud, translating everyone's feelings.


	3. Where did you say?

**Many, many thanks for all the reviews, alerts, favourites … It warms my heart =D **

**Slightly less long tonight, as one day I pissed off technology and it won't stop getting back at me, this weekend by declaring I had no right to mobile internet! **

"Ok, we have three hours, let's get moving people," Hotch started, tossing the case file aside after taking a quick look at it. "We will brief on the plane, but first we have more important matters to discuss." ****

**"**What, we're going to just accept this case?" Reid asked, his expression puzzled, "what is it even all about?" ****

**"**It's a fairly simple case, but we need to let Strauss believe we accept her authority on this," he answered, walking over to the door and briefly looking left and right to see if anyone could overhear them in the hallway. "JJ, call Rossi back in, he's teaching interrogation techniques so he shouldn't be long. Fill him in while he is on his way."****

He then went over to Garcia, who still stood where she had jumped up when Strauss came in, staring at the door, her bottom lip trembling. "Garcia, go clean out your office as quick as you can, then come back here." ****

Hotch's voice snapped Garcia out of her trance, all of the composure she had gained since they came into the conference room shattering right in front of her. It became too real for her now - she had three days left in Quantico, and she wouldn't even get to spend them with the people she loved the most. ****

**"**Hotch, we're not really letting her go, are we? We can't let her go like that, _I'm _not letting her go like that!" Derek stood up, took Pen's hand in his and pulled her close to him, comforting himself as much as her. "I'm not going anywhere." ****

**"**Morgan, don't do anything foolish," Hotch said, fatherly. He took the younger man by the arm, to guide him away from Garcia, but Morgan batted his arm away, angered. "Morgan! Listen to me!" Hotch continued, gesturing JJ who was done briefing Rossi to take Garcia to her office with a nod of his head. Once the two women left the office, Hotch pushed Morgan down into a chair. ****

**"**If you do anything stupid now, Strauss is going to go after you, and that won't advance us with anything." he started again, sitting down in a chair opposite of Morgan. ****

**"**Hotch, she already is after Pen and me, how much worse can it possibly get?" ****

**"**Well you could get fired, lose your house in a gas explosion, a war could break out..." Reid summed up, trying to find worst case scenarios. ****

**"**Reid, _shut up_," Prentiss glared at him. ****

**"**Sorry, I'm, I'm just nervous and I tend to..." he apologized, but before he could start babbling again the door opened and a visibly unnerved Agent Rossi marched in. ****

**"**JJ told me you are having problems with Strauss," Rossi started, "I am going to have a talk with her, I am sure she will reconsider ..."****

**"**David, it may be more complicated than you think," Hotch interjected, before sitting a still angry Morgan back down. "I know she has unsuccessfully tried to dissolve the BAU before but this time she has some sort of proof she seems fully intent on using."****

Rossi took a chair, putting it in front of Morgan, who had his head in his hands, and took the younger man's arm, making him look up. "Morgan,..."****

**"**I don't know what I am going to do if she goes, Dave, I really don't." He shook his head, running his hand over the back of his head, sitting back in his chair again. Rossi gave him a reassuring pat on the arm. "Don't underestimate what you have Morgan, you are both strong and we are here to help you."****

**"**Morgan, do you recognize the pictures from anywhere?" Reid asked suddenly, his front riddled in concentration, "I mean, do you euh, remember the positions," he blushed, "no, I mean, do you remember what originals the pictures are from?"****

Morgan shook his head, before sighing. "We never took any pictures, let alone videos..."****

**"**So we either have someone who took these pictures of you and changed the background, or someone who made it look like it is the two of you..." Reid continued his train of thought, pacing in front of the presentation board.****

**"**Oh it is us alright, I saw the birthmark Pen has right up her leg, next to..." Morgan smiled a mischievous grin, despite the situation.****

**"**It's okay Morgan, we don't need any more details," Prentiss interrupted. "So if you are sure it is indeed you, when and where were these taken?"****

Just then JJ burst into the room, without Garcia. Everyone looked up at her, her face red, anger flashing in her eyes. ****

**"**Strauss had an agent escort Pen out of her office to the reception desk for her papers and then to the garage. I can't believe the nerve that woman has!" she breathed out. "I tried to reason with her but she has gone completely mad."****

Morgan looked at her in disbelief, before jumping up and making a dash for the garage. ****


	4. And then poof, she was gone

**A/N: Just a reminder, I do not own Criminal Minds, CBS does, I merely just put the one and only ship together. **

**Many thanks to HotchHoneyLC for all her support :) **

Derek didn't waste any time with the always busy elevators, and instead opted for the seven flights of stairs down to the lot where Penelope always parked her old trustworthy Esther. Running as fast as he could, skipping several steps and coming dangerously close to the walls on more than one occasion, he nearly ran over a poor soul coming up. He didn't even bother apologizing, he was entirely too focused on finding Pen before it was too late. He pushed open the entrance door so hard that it came crashing into the wall, and quickly scanned the open space.

No sign of Pen or Esther. He continued running, sweat pearling on his face, his handsome features overcome with the blind panic he was feeling when he discovered she really wasn't there. He thought of going to the next floor, in the hope that maybe she had simply changed parking lots that day, even though he knew that was futile. Penelope ALWAYS parked there. His last bit of hope was crushed when he found Strauss next to the double doors leading to the elevators. She even had the audacity to smile at him, despite the anger flaring in his eyes at the sight of her, leaning against the white bricks.

"I'm afraid your friend had to leave rather prematurely." She was openly challenging him now, knowing she had him where she wanted him to be. With a little tug of her shoulder she pushed herself off the wall, slowly walking towards Derek who stalked up to her so forcefully she put a step back before standing face to face with him.

"My offer still stands, _Derek_," Strauss said with a sweet voice, trying to push herself against him, but he just growled, his face merely inches from hers, his fists clenched.

"I dunno what game you think you're playing..." His tone was cold and menacing, but Strauss didn't seem impressed, on the contrary.

"You know I love it when you really show your power," she whispered, her fingertips lingering on his biceps, "It makes you so..."

Derek grabbed her arms to keep her away from him, seeing red with anger.

"Derek, let go of her!" Hotch's voice resonated through the parking lot. He took Morgan by the arm, leading him away from a defiant Strauss who was now facing Rossi, who had come down with Hotch.

"Erin, your decisions lately have more than ... _puzzled_ us," Dave looked her straight in the eyes, despite her glaring at him. In all the years he had known this woman, there had always been something about her, that made him not trust her even if they had once shared a more intimate relationship, before she began her steep ascent in the FBI hierarchy and he became a top profiler and bestselling author. He knew she was a master of manipulation, not afraid to scheme and trick to get her way. But even a brilliant profiler such as himself didn't seem to possibly be able to understand what Strauss was trying to achieve by separating Morgan and Garcia. "What, in God's name, are you trying to do here?"

He waited until Hotch had lead a still seething Morgan towards the elevators to grab Strauss's arms, not breaking their eye contact one minute. He noticed anger in her look, determination and ruse, but also a glint of something he couldn't quite describe, akin to madness perhaps but not exactly that either.

"Agent Rossi, I believe your questioning to be out of line. I am still your superior, and I do not have to answer to you."

With that, she turned around and left a pensive Rossi alone in the garage.

********

Derek was pacing around Hotch's office, his cellphone to his ear, silently praying for Pen to pick up her phone. His first three attempts to call her rang out to voicemail, he threw his head back, running his hand over his face.

"Try again, Derek, she's probably driving or maybe juggling boxes, you know she'll want to talk to you," Hotch said reassuringly, looking at the man he had never seen so decomposed in his life.

The fifth time was the right one. Hotch quietly left his office and closed the door behind him, leaving Derek the most privacy he could for what he was sure would be one of the most difficult conversations of his life.

"Baby girl," Morgan breathed in relief, his worries temporarily soothed by the sound of her voice. It was amazing what effect the simplest whisper could have on him. As long as she kept talking to him, he knew he was going to be fine.

"_I'm so sorry Sweetness, I was hauling up the boxes up the stairs in the courtyard and struggling with the gate,..." _Her voice was hoarse from crying, and from the crack in it he could tell she was long from done yet.

"It's okay, baby, doesn't matter, we're here now, you okay?" He knew it was a lame question, but he didn't know what else to ask. The enormity of what was happening to them had not entirely sunk in yet.

"_I'm not Derek, I wanted to at least say goodbye to you but Strauss came in with an agent and told me to follow them, JJ got mad at Strauss but she told the agent to take me away while she dealt with JJ and then I was in the garage, I figured I'd stay there and wait for Jayje to relay the news to you so you could at least come but Strauss showed up and she reminded me of the deal I have with the FBI and if I didn't leave she would try and find a way out of it ... I can't go to prison Derek, she can't do that can she?" _She was rambling, but she had to voice her worst fear, hoping to make it less real when shared with the love of her life.

"Nobody's gonna put you in prison my love," he said reassuringly, but he wished he could be as convinced as he made his voice sound for her sake. After all this was Strauss they were dealing with.

"_When will I see you again?" _The first tears started coming, when she thought about all the miles that would soon separate them.

"No matter how far apart we are physically, ain't nobody gonna tear _us_ apart, baby girl, that's impossible," he almost whispered, a lump forming in his throat.

Just then Emily knocked on the door, and stuck her head around the door. She put her hand up, showing two fingers, signaling they had to leave in two minutes to catch the plane. She mouthed "sorry" but Derek didn't even notice her.

"Baby girl, I gotta go, you must know that I would drop this entire case in a heartbeat to be with you, but we don't want to give Strauss or any of the higher ups even more munition, you do understand why I'm leaving right now, do you?"

"_I do sugar, I just wish..._" Her words were drowned in a sob, and he closed his eyes, trying to choke back his own tears.

"So do I baby, so do I. I will call you as soon as we can and we will talk about this. Be strong for me Goddess, I love you."

"_I love you too" _

He stared at his shut phone for a few seconds before snapping out of his trance and heading towards the elevators where the rest of the team was waiting for him.

**A/N So I ended up cutting it here because otherwise it would be one massive chapter. Next one will bring some temporary relief against the angst/drama, but then it'll be back full-force for a bit. I'm a horror/spec fic writer usually, but a real romantic at heart and I love this pairing so I'll be good to them ;) I'm a little unsure about the dialogues too, as I am not a native English speaker, on the contrary, I never speak it. **

**But it's up to you, want more? =D **


	5. Out of sight, not out of heart

**Sorry for not updating yesterday, I just passed out before writing, and it took a while before they wanted to tell me how they got together. **

**To make up for it, this chapter is longer than the previous ones as there was no good place to cut it. A little fluff to tide you over, as it's about to get a lot worse for out favourite duo. **

**Many thanks to HotchHoneyLC again for rereading and keeping me in check :) **

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything, CBS does! **

They boarded the plane in near silence, everyone lost in their thoughts, feeling almost defeated. Hotch commandeered them into the seats in the middle section of the jet, so they would be able to brief the case Strauss had given them. JJ distributed the last-minute copies she had made while Emily and Reid were fixing coffee for everyone. Morgan hung in his chair, leaning back against the head rest, his eyes closed. Nobody questioned where his thoughts were.

Hotch, leaning against Reid's chair, flipped through the folder containing the evidence. He cleared his throat, trying to wake everyone up from their daydreams.

"The case seems pretty straight-forward, we have 3 women murdered in their homes, no signs of forced entry, no DNA or fingerprints, all three women frequented the same gym. All three were shot with a 9mm, close range."

"An execution?" Emily asked, slipping into her familiar role, "The close range shot could be because the UnSub has intimacy problems, or he is unsure about his capacities and prefers not to risk missing his victim."

"Do they have any other wounds?" Reid asked.

"None, no signs of struggle, in one of the cases two glasses of wine were found on the living room table." Hotch read off the file in front of him.

"They knew their aggressor." Morgan interjected, trying to focus on the case. The sooner they dealt with it, the sooner they would get back to Quantico, hopefully before Penelope had to leave for California. He realised he had no idea when the bureau-issued flight she was to be on was scheduled.

"What we need is a list of all personnel of the gym, and to check if these women frequented other places together, or if there is any other link the local PD might have overseen. We'll contact Gar- the new tech before landing. Rossi, Prentiss, you will go talk with the family of the victims. JJ, you will meet with Officer Milton at the local police station and set up camp there. Take Reid with you to take a look at the victimology. Morgan, you and I will go visit the gym." Hotch divided the tasks, clapped the case file shut, and went to sit in the front seat. They had another 2 hours before touchdown, at least.

Morgan was staring out of the window, his shut off iPod in his hands, when he felt a hand on his arm and he slightly jumped in his seat.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you!" JJ apologised. He hadn't even noticed she was still sitting next to him instead of moving to the front to look over cases, nor that Prentiss was still sitting opposite of him, with Rossi and Reid across the path. Everyone was looking at him, even Hotch turned in his seat in the front.

"What puzzles me, is who took those pictures and where, did you have a chance to think about it yet Morgan?" Reid started, thinking of the conversation they had in the conference room before Morgan stormed out of the room.

"Yes, no, I mean, I'm pretty sure the pictures must have been taken in Pen's apartment, that's the only place I can think of where we … _used a table_," he answered, remembering Prentiss's earlier remark to leave out details. His mind shot back to the afternoon where they'd christened her kitchen table, and a little smile played on his lips.

"Did you recognize your clothing on the pictures?" JJ suddenly asked, a pondering look on her face. Morgan frowned, trying to recall more details about the clothing. He had been wearing jeans, nothing unusual, no shirt on the still, a blue short-sleeved shirt on the picture. Pen had been down to her bra and he thought he had seen a hint of a hiked up yellow-green skirt on the leg she had curled around him, and she was wearing a black skirt and bright pink t-shirt on the second image. He tried to think back to the weekend with the kitchen table and what they were wearing, and he was pretty sure the still fit. The shirts were what made him tilt though.

"They were taken on a weekend. Both of them. We were barely clothed on that still, but the shirts on the other image, they are for days when we barely leave the bed- euh the apartment."

"So we are looking at someone who knows where at least Penelope lives, who somehow has access to her place, and was capable of taking those pictures. We'll have to check out her apartment for evidence, and talk to her neighbours..." Rossi analysed the situation, translating all of their thoughts. Right now though, there was nothing they could do. Morgan's shoulders sagged a little.

"As soon as we're back in Quantico we will find a solution, Morgan. We will find out who made the pictures, and we'll go higher up than Strauss with our proof. She will be back in your arms before you know it." JJ said, putting her hand back on his arm with a comforting gesture.

Morgan smiled and sat back in his seat. He suddenly felt more hopeful than he had since the morning, knowing that their friends had their backs.

"Speaking of your arms, when did you two finally figure it out?" Prentiss asked, barely hiding her curiosity.

"Figure what out?" Morgan answered innocently, knowing all too well what she getting at.

"What we've known for years now, that you two are meant for each other," Hotch said with a half-smile.

"When we quit being stupid," Morgan answered with a big grin on his face, putting his earphones in his ears and turning on his iPod. He wasn't going to give them any more details than needed, not without Pen there. Looking at the clouds through the window, he thought about the day when they finally admitted they loved each other.

_The case in Alaska had taken its toll on Pen. She had seen a man dying right in front of her, felt his blood all over her while his eyes broke, staring into eternity when his last breath hit the cool winter air, she had pleaded for him to stay with her, to cling to life with a desperation she didn't know she had in her. _

_Morgan did his best to comfort her, cleaned away most of the blood, held her, whispered sweet nothings in her ear. At first they thought she'd break down, but her fighting spirit and skills had allowed them the breakthrough they needed to solve the case. When they were leaving, he went looking for Pen and finally found her, contemplating the landscape. He couldn't help but tell her how proud he was of her, and when their conversation had ended with her telling him she kinda loved him he felt like they were finally back on the right track, that the events of the past few years which had made them drift apart were perhaps on their way to being forgotten, perhaps now she'd let him back into her heart. He knew she had never left his. _

_When they landed in Quantico, she looked at him still with that sad expression in her eyes, and Morgan knew immediately something was wrong. He slipped his arm around her shoulder, holding her close to him. _

"_Can you please keep me company tonight?" she whispered in his ear, and he knew he couldn't refuse her. _

"_Don't you have any plans with Kevin?" he asked, but she shrugged and he took that as a sign not to ask any further. _

"_How about you with Tamara?" She looked away, he knew it was still a touchy subject. _

"_I never saw her again after the case was closed," he answered softly, making her look up at him so she'd see the truth in his eyes. _

"_I'm sorry." _

"_I'm not. There was just nothing there," he smiled at her. "_She wasn't you"_ he wanted to add, but thought better of it. _

_They were both silent while he drove them to her place. They decided to order in and watch some films, just like the good old times. _

"_I missed this, so much," was the first thing Pen said when they were done eating and settled in the couch with a bowl of popcorn. Morgan didn't answer but just smiled, holding his arms open so she could settle against his chest to watch _Stardust_. He wasn't a fan of fantasy or fairytales but she could have asked him to watch the phone book being read out by a bunch of mimes and he would have still said yes. _

_Halfway through the film, her phone started ringing. She looked annoyed, and tossed it aside but it kept ringing and ringing and eventually she sighed and sat back up. _

"_I'm sorry Derek, I'd better deal with this," she said, and stood up. Morgan looked at her puzzled, but didn't move. _

"_Kevin," Pen said, in an exasperated tone, "I thought I asked you to give me some space." _

"_But Penny, why are you doing this to me? Last week you said you were thinking about accepting my proposal, and now you need space?" Kevin sounded hurt, he was talking so loudly Morgan could hear every word and he nearly choked on his beer when he heard him say "proposal". _

"_All I needed was support, because I saw something terrible, a dying man in front of my very own eyes, and all you could worried about was where Morgan was sleeping," she answered in an accusatory tone. "You were once more jealous and forgot about me. I can't do this any more Kevin, it's not fair to me, nor to you."_

"_Fine then, be that way. But you can't tell me I don't have any reason to be jealous, can you? You were never fully there for me, were you? It was always Morgan this, Morgan that, Morgan is so great, Morgan is my _best friend_, blah blah blah," he spat out, making the object of his hatred stand up from her couch, making his way towards the door. _

"_I'd better go," Morgan mouthed to Pen, but she frantically shook her head, gesturing for him to sit back down. "Sorry," she mouthed back. _

"_Kevin, you are being irrational. I don't want to talk about this right now, I want to relax after a really hard case, and let it all go." she sighed, suddenly really tired. _

"_I want this out in the open for once and for all Penny. I don't want to come second any more. You need to keep him out of your life, for the sake of us, for what we have." She was crushing the phone in her hand so hard now, she swore she could hear the plastic case crack. _

"_Never..." it was almost a whisper, barely loud enough for him to hear. _

"_So you are throwing us away for a silly crush you have, like a schoolgirl, for someone who will never look at you the same way?" Kevin yelled now, "Do you realise what you are doing?" _

_Morgan looked at the pained expression on Pen's face, stood up and was with her in one swift movement, taking her in his strong arms, holding her close, burying his face in her hair. _

"_It's not just a silly crush Kevin, I'm in love with him..." her voice trailed off, she was staring into space while Morgan took the phone out of her hands and turned her around so he could look her in the eyes. _

"_You will regret this Pen, when he'll take off with another one of his models and you will be all alone..." they heard before Derek tossed the phone aside, cupped Penelope's face in his hands and pulled her closer to kiss her. _

"_I love you too," he said breathlessly when they came back up for air, and captured her lips in another kiss. _

"The new tech is ready to connect," Reid awoke Morgan abruptly from his reverie, attracting his attention to the laptop on the table. A flash of pain shot through his chest, it should have been his baby girl sitting there, greeting them with another one of her silly lines which always made the team smile. Instead they were looking at a nervous looking man in his early thirties. They had to repeat the name of the first victim three times before he got it right, and Morgan sighed. Pen would have had a suspect list ready for them by the time the guy started typing.

This was going to be more difficult than they thought.


	6. So close

**Disclaimer: I do not own "Criminal Minds", CBS does.**

**Another longer chapter, for all those of you who hoped it would get better, I'm so terribly sorry, it gets worse. Much worse. And will continue to get worse. **_**But**_** I am a HEA girl so there is hope, and hang in there ;) So, more angst here. **

Two days later, it was a very frustrated team sitting in the small room they had set up in the central police office. The once so straightforward case seemed to lead to one dead end after another, especially after they found a fourth body, once more a woman who had frequented the same gym the three others had. They felt like they were running in circles, their profile had not evolved much from what they discussed on the plane and in the meantime they were sitting there, waiting, more often than not.

The new tech was a disaster to work with, and more than once they regretted not having Garcia there to break open the investigation and provide them with some information they could actually work with. It was purely coincidental that they finally found out that all four women had another point in common: all four had been members of the same sorority in college, and kept in touch after finishing their studies. Going to the gym together was a by-product of their association, not the reason for it, and everyone silently cursed out the tech and the local police for not investigating further.

"Garcia would have found that for us before we even landed," Hotch mumbled, not even looking at Morgan, who was playing with his phone.

"What the hell is wrong with this guy?" Prentiss complained, fanning herself in the oppressive heat. "I could have been on my way to... eh nevermind." She quickly shut up when JJ and Reid cleared their throats at the same time.

The computer in front of them bleeped, and the video connection with John back in Penelope's old lair in Quantico was quickly established. He looked even more unsettled than usually, constantly checking the clock, his brown hair sticking to his front.

"I couldn't find any other friends or acquaintances in common, sir," John started apologetically, addressing only Hotch. He only growled, gave the man who had worked himself up as the bane of his existence in a mere two days a disapproving look and closed the laptop.

"I guess we are left to our own devices then," Reid grumbled, before picking up the case files in front of him. "Right, so we figure the victims all knew their murderer, because they let him in, and one victim shared a glass of wine, presumably with her assailant, since there was still some wine left in one glass."

"She was the first victim, no?" Rossi asked, his eyebrow cocked, "which means we can assume that the UnSub had perhaps a stronger or more intimate connection with her, and that the other three are either potential witnesses or the next step in the execution of his plan."

"So we are looking perhaps for an ex-boyfriend, or someone the first victim rejected, and all the other victims knew too." Hotch added, jumping up. "Prentiss, JJ, and Reid, go interview the remaining sorority sisters, see if they know anyone who would fit the profile, Rossi, Morgan and I will go talk with the family again. Ok people let's go."

Morgan got up hesitantly, still staring at his phone, as if he was willing it to ring but needed a few years practice still.

"Everything okay, Morgan?" Reid asked, walking next to him as they made their way to the black SUVs parked outside.

"No... yea, well no, Pen's gonna call as soon as she knows when's her flight," Morgan said anxiously and the whole team immediately understood he hoped they would be back in time to at least say goodbye to her.

"Let's hurry, and wrap this up!" Armed with new found determination, they set off to their respective destinations.

Thanks to the help of the sister of the first victim, they were able to identify a man who had asked her out on a date in college but instead of the romantic tête-à-tête he had in mind he found himself faced with 3 of her sorority sisters too, and the four girls had had some laughs at his expense before leaving him there heartbroken. He had kept writing her letters until they both graduated and they thought he had moved on.

They did not waste any more time and directly after his arrest late on Saturday evening they were heading to the airport instead of staying an extra night at the hotel. As they were driving, Morgan's phone rang with Penelope's familiar ringtone.

"Talk to me baby girl," he answered after the first ring.

"Sweetness, my flight leaves in 5 hours, HR just called me, I have to make it..." she sounded hoarse, and he knew it was from crying too much, mentally kicking himself because he couldn't be there to make it somehow easier for her.

"We're arrivin' at the airport princess, we'll be back before you leave, I promise," he soothed her, gesturing to the driving Hotch they had 5 hours left before Pen would be off to California.

"Derek, I don't want to go," she started crying again, breaking his heart over and over again with every tear.

"We will find a solution, baby, don't you worry that pretty little head of yours, and it'll be just like you took a little vacation and then you'll be back safe here with us," he assured her, silently praying he was right.

"Thank you," she whispered, and she wanted to believe it would be as simple as he made it sound like.

"Anything for you, my Goddess," he smiled, and had the circumstances been normal Reid and Prentiss who were in the car with them would have rolled their eyes but now they were just wracking their brains, trying to come up with a plan. As they pulled up to the airport, they quickly got out of the car and practically ran to their gate, closely followed by JJ and Rossi who had followed them in the second car. They were cleared to board immediately.

"I gotta get on the plane, baby, never forget I love you, okay?"

"Never. And ... I love you more!" she giggled before disconnecting the call, a temporary burst of hope carrying her words.

The plane ride started out uneventful, with Hotch and JJ catching up on the paperwork for the case, as they were wont to do. They were discussing the case, as JJ was missing any official request paperwork for FBI assistance on the case.

"I do wonder how this Officer Milton ended up directly going to Strauss for such a relatively simple case," she told Hotch, who looked none too pleased himself.

"Perhaps she knows him personally, this has happened before," Hotch offered, but he didn't sound very convincing. The case had nothing that required immediate BAU attention.

"You know, without that tech screwing up, we would have solved the case the first day," Reid piped in, "and the local PD would have solved it by now too, the old-fashioned way. We didn't even end up giving a real profile."

"Who hired that tech anyway? I know we are used to Garcia's impossible standards, but this was below high school graduation requirements," Prentiss ranted, clearly unimpressed with John's skills.

"I'd never seen him before, but Strauss said..." Hotch started, and then it was as if a collective lightbulb was lit. "Strauss."

"She's responsible for this. The case, the inadequate tech, trying to keep us away." Rossi observed, looking over all of them. "But why?"

They were pondering the question as the voice of the pilot on the intercom signaled they were having a minor technical problem which would delay their landing. Morgan groaned, as Pen's 7 AM flight was rapidly approaching.

Finally however they were able to land, and Morgan took off running to try and catch up with Penelope before she boarded the plane. Not having her exact flight information to look her up on the information panels, he sprinted to the information desk of the company she would be flying with, finding it near empty and his hope sank. Flagging over an employee, he showed his credentials to get her to talk.

"7 AM flight to California, it's urgent, what gate are they boarding at?" he panted.

"I'm sorry sir," she said almost apologetically and pointed at the large bay windows, "they are just taking off."

Morgan's shoulders fell, with a defeated look on his face he turned around and ran to the window, fixating the plane leaving the take off strip. He pressed his hands and front against the cool glass, a single tear shining in the corner of his eye.

"I'm so sorry I didn't keep my promise, baby girl," he said to the rapidly disappearing plane, and when the rest of the team arrived ten minutes later they still found him in that position, staring off into the empty sky.

**Reviews are love. Many thanks to everyone who has reviewed, put on the story on alerts or favourites! **


	7. And yet so far away

**Sorry for the long wait! I'm on holidays right now, so updates may be a little trickier. I'm doing my best, and as long as I get reviews I'm really motivated too ;) This one is a bit longer to make up for it. More angst. Still a lot more to come. Klcm, now you know what I meant with lynch me ;) **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing! **

**Specially for ReadYourThoughts and the girls of IKY_dU, some little moments. I hope RYT is happy now, and can forgive me for having to wait! I'll find them a room as soon as I can ;) **

**Also, the #HotchHoneys rule (I know ya'll read but don't review!) **

The next morning they were immediately called onto another case, a legitimate one this time, which brought them to Maine and kept them there for almost three weeks. Morgan called Penelope as much as he could, but even though he was used to the fact they were often apart due to cases, this was different, and he was growing increasingly frustrated that they could not work on figuring out who set them up and how to bring the love of his life back to Quantico where she belonged. As understanding as they were, he was driving the rest of the team crazy with his brash attitude and impatience.

"_MORGAN!"_ Hotch yelled with insistence into the microphone on his wrist, trying to finally catch the younger man's attention. He knew Morgan heard him, but he was just plain ignoring him. They were laying back, waiting on the blueprint of an industrial complex before storming it with the help of a SWAT unit. Hotch and Rossi were furthest back, keeping tactical oversight, but looking through his binoculars Rossi had noticed Derek Morgan getting closer to the building than instructed, looking for a way in, nearly exposing their cover.

"Morgan, if you don't return to your position within 5 seconds, I'm having you assigned to desk duty with mandatory on-call time over the weekend," Hotch menaced, knowing that Derek was anxiously waiting for a breakthrough to wrap the case so he could book a flight to California while the rest of the team went through her apartment to look for clues about the pictures and hopefully find out who was so intent on driving Pen and him apart. When Rossi motioned that Morgan had resumed his position, Hotch breathed a sigh of relief. He had never seen him so lovesick and now he became a liability.

Fifteen long minutes later they finally had the blueprints. Hotch and Rossi studied them briefly, quickly deciding on the best tactic and then briefed the others. Morgan and Prentiss went in first with the SWAT guys, Reid and JJ following closely, Hotch and Rossi surveying the operation but moving in behind them.

"Clear! Clear!" they heard the various members of the teams signal the rooms were empty, but when they didn't hear Morgan and Prentiss add to the chorus and gunshots were heard, Hotch and Rossi immediately knew something went wrong.

Motioning the others they made their way in the direction the sound had come from, flinching when more gunshots were fired. "Officer down!" they heard Prentiss yell into the microphone, and hurried towards her. She was holding two men at gunpoint, and so was Morgan, except he was laying down in a puddle of his own blood. They didn't waste any time, cuffed the two suspects while Reid and JJ kneeled next to Morgan who was holding his arm.

"It's nothing, just a superficial flesh wound," the dark profiler grunted, trying to get up but failing miserably.

"They got your leg too," Reid said, rapidly scanning over him to see where else he might have been wounded. "An ambulance is on its way."

Less than ten minutes later Morgan was taken off to the hospital, despite his protests he had just been grazed by the bullets and barely needed a little clean-up of the wounds. The rest of the team followed close in the SUVs, Hotch making calls to the local police department and the FBI hierarchy to wrap the case up and inform them of Derek's injury.

"Should I call Garcia?" he asked Reid, who was sitting next to him, and Prentiss in the back of the car. "Or do I wait for Morgan to do it?"

"Call," Prentiss answered, seconded by a nodding Reid, "I'd want to know and who knows how long Morgan will be at the ER."

xxxxxx

"Hotch!" her voice was cheerful, but she knew they were on a case and she couldn't hide the worry seeping through. "Is everything alright? Why are you calling me?"

"Garcia, hi, are you sitting down?" he asked, suddenly a little nervous. He had been the bringer of bad, ugly and downright nasty news before, had even informed Garcia several times when one of the team members had gotten hurt, Derek included, but somehow, this was different. Everyone knew that they had loved each other long before they realised themselves or even admitted to it, but having now witnessed that love fully coming to bloom, he knew he was going to break Garcia's heart.

"Sir, what is going on? Did anything happen to Derek?" She caught on immediately, knowing Hotch was not much of a talker, and even less a man of courtesy calls.

"Penelope, he is going to be fine. We have no further news, but the EMTs who took him from the scene told us he had been shot twice. Once in the arm, the other shot grazed his leg." He heard her gasp, then the tears started to fall.

"Penelope?"

"Yes, boss man, still here, I'm so sorry, it's just ..." her voice waivered, thick with emotion and held back worries and fears.

"I know," Hotch answered simply, he too knew what it was like to be apart from the one you love. "As soon as he is cleared to fly I'm sending him out to California to you. If I don't he's going to get himself killed one way or another because he's losing his mind worrying about you. And that after only 3 weeks, I'd hate to see what happens when you are apart any longer." Hotch smiled lightly, he wasn't used to making jokes any more.

Prentiss chuckled, muttering "please save us from that" under her breath. She had been partnered up with Derek and while he hadn't put her in danger she still barely had him covered when he was shot.

"You know I love the prospect of seeing my handsome man again, my superheroes, but I really wish it was me making the trip back home," Pen answered wistfully.

"We're working on it, Garcia, believe me we are working on it," Hotch reassured her, before being interrupted by Reid's hand on his arm, attracting his attention to the fact they arrived at their destination. "I have to go now, we're keeping you updated. Bye."

Rossi and JJ were already in the waiting room, quickly standing up when they saw the rest of their team arrive.

"Any news?" Hotch asked them immediately.

"He's in surgery to repair his arm, but it's just a flesh wound. His leg is just a graze, they are repairing that too while he's under anyway. He'll be able to use that arm in no time. In the words of the doctor, he is one lucky son of a ..." Rossi quickly summed up. Relief washed over their faces.

"Did anyone call Garcia?" JJ asked, she had been toying with the idea of calling her best friend but didn't want to worry her unnecessarily.

"I just did, and I told her I'd send Derek over there while he's recovering. In the meantime, we will find out once and for all who set them up and find a way around the frat rules. That was the last time I waited 15 damn minutes for a simple blueprint," Hotch swore.

Xxxx

Derek was indeed recovering extremely fast, and could leave the hospital two days later. The team had stayed behind, taking advantage of the situation to come up with a game plan of how they would handle Strauss and prove the fakeness of the pictures. It was quickly decided that while Derek would go visit Pen in California as soon as he was out of the hospital, JJ, Prentiss and Rossi were going to look through Garcia's apartment in search of any evidence of cameras, unwanted visitors, or anything which could explain how intimate pictures of the couple could have been taken without their noticing. Hotch and Reid were going to Derek's place to check it over, even though they were fairly sure nothing would be found there. What they still could not understand though, was why Erin Strauss was acting the way she was.

"Ya know," Derek pondered, waiting for his release papers, sitting on the edge of his hospital bed fully dressed, the team around him on chairs scattered throughout the room, "Strauss actually _propositioned_ me."

Rossi groaned. "Propositioned you how?" he asked, a wary look in his eyes.

"Pen's transfer against what she called _services_," Morgan filled in. "And she made herself quite clear as to what she considered as those," he shuddered at the thought.

"I didn't think she still pulled that sort of stunts," Rossi sighed. "She used to try and sweet talk many of her fellow agents in her bed when we were both just starting. Hell, I fell for it, she was good at it too. Later on, when she had subordinates, she never hesitated to use that extra bit of leverage if it served her purposes," he offered. Everyone looked at him gasping the second he revealed he had once slept with their nemesis.

"Know thy enemy," Reid muttered.

"_Still_, Dave, I can't help but think that this is all really too elaborate just to get someone in your bed. She has plenty more subordinates to pester, and she had to get through great trouble to even take the pictures, let alone manipulate them so well." Morgan rejected the thought.

"Perhaps, but she wants to bring down the BAU, further her own career, and on top of that, you have a _reputation_, Derek," Rossi explained.

"A _what? _What does that even have to do..." Derek sputtered.

"A playboy, a womaniser, an extraordinary lover,..." the older man answered with a glint of amusement in his eyes. At one time, the reputation had been his. Heck, his reputation now was still very close to the picture he just painted.

Now it was Morgan's turn to groan. "What?" he asked as everyone looked at him knowingly.

"Cheryl from accounting says you can go all night," Prentiss offered.

"Alicia in Counter-Terrorism said she didn't know what an orgasm was before meeting you," JJ chimed in.

"Tina from the white collar distribution said you knew how to make a woman feel loved, until you slipped away in the middle of the night," Reid continued. Everyone stopped and gawked at him.

"What? I _talk_ to people sometimes too!" the blushing genius defended himself.

Shaking his head at the thought the closest thing he had to a best friend discussed his love, or rather sex life with random flings, Derek couldn't help but blush a little himself.

"Still, that doesn't explain the risks Strauss is taking. This must be part of some bigger plan, and I'm pretty sure she has help from someone." Hotch agreed with Morgan.

Just then the doctor came in with the release papers, a script for painkillers and instructions on how to properly dress the wounds and take care of them. Within the hour they were sitting on the BAU jet, ready for the short flight home.

Morgan decided to take advantage of the down time to video call Pen, he wanted to tell her he really wasn't going to take long any more now, he had a flight booked for the next day. At first he had wanted to surprise her, but he knew how much she was suffering in her new job, alone in a new city, so he wanted to give her something to look forward to.

As he signed into his accounts, he noticed he had a new message. Seeing it was from Pen, he eagerly opened it.

"_MORGAN!" _Hotch shouted, thinking it was starting to become a habit. "What's wrong?"

They all looked worriedly at their friend, who was paler than they had ever seen him, cursing under his breath, tears in his eyes. He looked devastated. Morgan didn't answer them though, instead just turned the laptop screen so they could read for themselves.

_Derek, _

_I know there is no right way to tell you this, so I am going to be really straightforward with you. I am sorry for leading you on, for letting you believe I loved you. I don't. My heart is still with Kevin, and I realised this when he went through all this trouble to transfer here to California to support me. I am very lucky a man loves me as much as he does, and is willing to try and build up a life with me here. I am asking you please not to come see me, and not to contact me again. It is better for both of us if we move on. _

_I am so very sorry, _

_Penny _

**A/N The plot thickens! **

**Continue? **


	8. Gathering evidence

**A/N: Here we are again. Still on holidays, enjoying my time, and yesterday the muse just wouldn't follow. Things are speeding up a little now, and hopefully soon we will see a little loving up in here ;) I just follow the muse. And the muse is normally pretty sadistic but I told her not this time, we need a HEA, so we'll see! But, the angst and drama is ALMOST over.**

**In the meantime, thanks for all the lovely reviews, alerts and favourites. **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, it all belongs to CBS. *sigh* **

**I hope this makes ReadYourThoughts happy :) Also a shout out to klcm who was ALMOST straying from the right path, but has been brought back to sanity ;) **

"I don't understand ... why would she do that?" Reid was the first one to break the stunned silence reigning in the plane after everyone had the chance to read the message.

"That's not Pen," JJ immediately answered. "Morgan! You don't believe that, do you?"

Derek just stared at her warily. Somehow this was just a bit too much for him. Finally he just shook his head.

"Well, she was with Lynch for almost three years before, and in times of great stress people are more likely to fall back on what is familiar and certain," Reid defended himself.

"Reid, honey, this is Pen and Derek we are talking about. Weren't we all certain enough to bet good money that they were meant to be?" Prentiss countered.

"Right," Reid nodded.

Hotch put his hand on Reid's arm, ever so slightly. "There's a lot you need to learn about love, kid." he said with a smirk.

"Money?" Derek asked, suddenly coming out of his daze.

"Don't worry about it," Prentiss told him amusedly. "So who wrote this?"

"What if she just don't love me enough?" Derek mused, running his hands over his face.

JJ slapped him on the head, scowling. "No more painkillers for you, Mister, if they turn you into an insecure mess. Of course she does!"

"Ouch! You hit a wounded man!" he glowered at her.

"Love hurts!" she retorted, glaring.

"Okay, okay, behave. So let's assume this note is not from Penelope. If anything, we know she hates to be called Penny." Rossi calmed them down, "Now who besides Lynch calls her that?"

"Her brothers, maybe? They are still in California, aren't they?" Prentiss asked.

"They are. Pen keeps tabs on them, but they ain't spoken together in years and I doubt she'd all over sudden show up on their doorstep," Derek answered her. "Nah, her brothers got nothin' to do with it. It must be Lynch."

"Then let us focus on him first. Morgan, you are going to California as planned, and try to find out what is going on with Penelope. The rest of us will proceed as we said. And we are not taking any new cases until this is solved once and for all. Did I make myself clear?" Hotch closed the conversation, and all of them tried to sleep for a while before they landed in Quantico.

Xxxxxxxxx

The next day, Derek nervously stood in front of a small apartment building just outside Los Angeles. It looked nice enough from the outside, albeit a little empty. There were no names visible on the doorbells, weeds growing all over the little courtyard in front of the building. His arm was bothering him more than he wanted to admit, even to himself, but it had not been easy getting there. He couldn't drive, so he had relied on catching a cab. After an hour drive with a not very careful driver, he felt mangled, despite his seatbelt he had hit his arm in the door at least three times and his leg was throbbing. Walking up the few steps towards the front entrance, he couldn't help but be reminded of her home in Quantico. Involuntarily he looked at the steps on the right, but there were no blood stains here. _"At least one thing is better here," _he thought wryly to himself. Swallowing a lump in his throat, he rang the doorbell he figured was associated with the first floor she lived on.

When there was no response after five minutes, he tried the other bells. Still nothing. It was Saturday, she wasn't supposed to work. He knew from their phone conversations that she had spent every Saturday on-call, so she had to stay at home, or at least not go too far away. He rang the doorbell again, knocking on the door simultaneously with his good hand

Nothing. He banged on the door a little louder, calling her name. He pulled out his cellphone to try and call her for the hundredth time since he had gotten her message, but she still didn't answer. The other team members had tried to reach her too, but it invariably rang out and then went to voicemail.

When he put his cellphone away, he heard someone calling for him from the building next door. Looking up, he noticed an old lady motioning him to come over. Reluctantly, he did.

"By any chance aren't you looking for the little redhead who arrived a month ago?" she asked, a worried look on her face Derek didn't fail to notice.

"Yes Ma'am, I am. You know where she is?" he urged her.

"She never returned my plates," the old woman complained. Derek sighed. Plates were the last of his worries.

"Ma'am, I'm sorry about your plates. But do you know where she is?" he asked with a little more insistence this time.

"She was nice, you know, so I brought her that cake and then she keeps the dishes! And doesn't answer the door!" the hag continued. Derek pretty much had it now, and flashed his FBI credentials in front of her, hoping she'd at least understand the seriousness of the situation.

"Ma'am, I am SSA Derek Morgan, FBI. Can you please tell me if you know where Penelope Garcia, the woman who lives here, is?" He felt sorry for the woman when he saw the fear in her eyes but it was necessary.

"I haven't seen her since yesterday, sir, when I went to ask for my dishes, I saw her go in but before I made it out this man was running up the stairs and I heard shouting. Then it was silent but she went out with her loverboy and I bet you they're having a great time judging from the way they were holding each other, if you catch my drift!" she spat out disapprovingly. Derek saw green, not only from the pain he was in, as he realised he skipped pain meds and had been standing for way longer than he was advised, but also from worry.

"That man, what he look like?" He had a pretty good idea of what he'd look like, but he wanted to be sure.

"Mmm, I just saw him quickly. Brown hair, greasy, chubby. He had glasses, too," she remembered.

"Thank you Ma'am. That will be all." Derek walked away quickly, back to the house. He got out his cellphone, pressing two on his speed dial.

"Hotchner," a rich voice answered.

"Hotch, it's Morgan. Pen ain't here, the neighbour ain't seen her since yesterday, when she left with Lynch after a shouting match. I'm gonna kick in that door and see what I can find." he announced.

"Be careful," was all the unit chief had to say. "And keep us updated. I'm about to go through your apartment with Reid. The others are at Pen's place. We'll brief in two hours, okay?"

"Right. Thanks man." Morgan hung up, and tried the building door. It was open, much to his surprise, so he quickly walked through the hallway and up the stairs to the first floor apartment. He halted in front of the door, drew his weapon, and then braced himself against the pain. Breathing in harshly, he kicked down the door, winced, then gathered himself and went in.

The first thought to hit him was that this place was so not Pen. It oozed neutrality. There were no trinkets, no vibrant colours, no throw pillows and blankets. There was no super8, no crazy lamps, no paintings, no soul in it. The only thing giving away she was living here were the pictures of the team hanging on the wall. Derek went over to them, slowly tracing the contours of the biggest one, a picture of him holding Penelope on a team night out. They looked so in love, even though they weren't together yet. _"No wonder Lynch was always jealous,"_ Derek realised, seeing now what everyone had seen for so long.

He quickly scanned the rest of the apartment, finding nothing alarming until he found her laptop, tossed under the covers of the bed. Knowing how much care Penelope always took of her babies, Morgan immediately knew something was wrong. He opened the laptop, and started looking through her history. He now silently thanked her for all the hours she spent trying to explain basic computer features. As soon as he clicked the first file, a message popped up, labeled "Derek". It was a password-protected file, but Derek quickly remembered the conversation he once had with Penelope about being spies and sending secret messages. Shaking his head at the memory of their silly banter, he started typing "hotstuff4eva", what she had said would be their codeword in a fit of giggles.

_Sweetheart, _

_I know you'll come looking for me. You have to. Kevin showed up at work last week. He said he transferred here to give us a second chance, since you wouldn't. He was in my office when Hotch called yesterday, and flipped out when he heard you were coming. He must've followed me home, and made me write that message. He has a gun. Please Derek. _

_I lo-_

The message was cut off, Derek assumed when Lynch was coming back and she had to hide the computer. Immediately, he pressed "2" on his speed dial again.

"Morgan. We found very disturbing evidence. We're on our way," Hotchner forewent any and all greeting.

"Lynch has Pen – Wait, what?" Morgan said in the same breath.

"Are you sure?" Hotchner asked.

"She left another message on her laptop." He closed the laptop, looking for a bag to take it in.

"Meet us at the airport, we'll be there in 2 hours." Hotch hung up.

Morgan made his way out of the apartment, after checking it out one last time for anything he might have missed.

Standing in the living room, he couldn't help himself staring at the picture of him and her, happy. Just before leaving, he took it from the wall and stared at it, sitting outside on the stairs until the cab he called arrived.

**A/N: More? Where should we go? **


	9. The plot gets thicker

**Disclaimer: still don't own a thing, unfortunately **

**A/N: thick of the action is almost out of the way, one, possibly two more chapters! I had to cut it here because otherwise it would be massive but ch.10 should be on its way really soon. I apologize for not updating earlier but real life circumstances got in the way! **

Derek arrived just in time at the LA LAX airport to find the team coming through the gates, a sense of urgency visible in their demeanour. They did not waste much time with greetings, instead getting straight to business.

"Morgan, you got a hotel room?" Hotch asked, hurriedly.

"No, I figured I'd see Pen..." Morgan answered, having thought about everything but the practicalities. He knew Strauss and most of the higher-ups were most likely not aware that the team had taken off for Los Angeles, so it was unlikely they could use the FBI buildings. Especially not if Kevin was working there now – not only was he involved but he could easily pull up their case information and report it to their superiors.

"Right, let's find one and set up shop," Hotch urged. He lead the team to the car rental office, where two black SUVs were waiting for them.

"Morgan, Reid, Prentiss, you come with me. We'll brief in the car. JJ, Rossi, go find us accommodations for at least tonight, make sure nobody suspects anything, call us with the address and then I want you, Dave, to go to talk to Torres at the FBI. See if he knows anything about the transfers, but do it discreetly. He knows you are coming. JJ, pull out the evidence we found and see if you can find anything on it. Contact the specialised shops to get any information you can get on the cameras. Let's go people!" Everyone nodded at Hotch, fully understanding their tasks.

"Cameras?" Morgan asked, his eyebrows knitted, as soon as they were seated in the first SUV.

"We found several cameras dissimulated in Penelope's apartment, Derek," Prentiss filled him in. "And it wasn't an amateur's job either," she added, thoughtfully.

"What you mean, not an amateur job?" Morgan raised one eyebrow.

"We're talking state of the art spy material, cameras even the intelligence services have a hard time justifying the use of. And they were really cleverly hidden too, had we not brought out the CSIs with their scanners we would probably have missed most of them. One was worked inside the ornaments on the door frame of her bedroom, two others were plastered in the walls, there were two in the bed knobs, we found several in the kitchen cabinet doors, even more in the living room... the whole place was covered. Shower included." Reid summed up.

"Hence we know how the pictures were taken," Prentiss stated the obvious. "There were none in your place, at all."

Derek remained silent, shocked at the idea their every move in Penelope's apartment had been followed so closely, most certainly by Kevin Lynch. Knowing how badly the tech took the break-up, Derek couldn't help but imagine how devastated he had to have been seeing another man exchanging endearments, tender touches, sweet moments with the woman who broke his heart, making love to her, making her scream out his name, repeatedly. Pen had confessed him one night that what she missed most with Kevin was a sense of physical contact, he wasn't very touchy-feely at all, and that sex between her and Lynch was on the boring side and certainly not worthy of much oral expression. She and Derek were the complete opposite. Lynch must have been floored comparing their performances to what he saw on his screen.

In other words: they were looking for a very angry, very scorned, and therefore very dangerous man. Who held the love of his life. Of their lives, apparently.

Xxxxx

JJ called the rest of the team within 15 minutes, giving them the address of the hotel where she hired a suite with two bedroom and a living room, giving them a place to work. By the time they arrived, Rossi had left for the FBI building, and they quickly settled around the table where JJ had laid out the evidence.

"I contacted the manufacturer, those are pretty expensive cameras, they are usually used for surveillance because they are discreet, do not need much if any maintaining, are solid and have good transmission while they are small enough you can easily dissimulate them." JJ started her explanation, walking around the table.

"Are they easy to install?" Reid asked, his brows furrowed, tapping his fingers in front of him.

"That's the thing. The manufacturer assured me that you need someone specialised to install them properly. Especially when I explained where we found them, he said that's a professional job." JJ continued, pursing her lips.

"Who would do this?" Hotch threw the question in the group, even though they knew the answer. Kevin "I think sneaking up on people is fun" Lynch, was the only reasonable suspect.

"It makes sense," Prentiss offered, holding her hands open in front of her, "Pen would always tell us how he had this uncanny ability of guessing, or 'knowing' things that happened when he wasn't there." JJ nodded.

"Yeaaah," the blonde woman continued. "I remember how one day she got into a small argument with him – she was tired, and he was blaming the team and how she had nightmares from the cases, and she told him she slept well that night and he got angry and told her she shouldn't lie to him that he knew very well she'd been dreaming and laid awake afterwards. And Pen was confused but she figured she did that often when he stayed over so he was just guessing..."

"Unless he was watching her," Hotch continued her thought.

"What a creep," Prentiss interjected, "he always rubbed me the wrong way."

"The question is why. What pushes a seemingly normal man to install over ten cameras in his girlfriend's house, to watch her apparently over extended periods of time, and even confront her with it," Reid pondered.

"Look, shouldn't we just go over to Lynch's place wherever the hell that is now, get Penelope out and ask questions later?" Morgan asked in an exasperated tone. "We dun need no profile, we know who did it, we need his address and start looking for her," Morgan interrupted the profiling session, impatiently slamming his fist on the table."

Hotch raised the palms of his hands towards Morgan, trying to calm him down.

"Morgan, I know that, but we need to be sure it's Lynch we're dealing with here. And know exactly who he is if we want to approach him without putting Penelope in more danger."

"He could be killing her right now, and we're getting a lecture on cameras!" Morgan cried out angrily, getting up.

"Morgan, where are you going?" Hotch shouted behind him, a sense of déjà-vu plaguing him.

Fortunately, the younger agent was stopped at the door by Rossi coming back from this meeting with Torres. Sensing where Morgan was storming off to, he put a hand on his chest and pushed him back inside the room towards the table.

"The plot gets thicker," he stated simply, catching everyone's attention, even Morgan's.

"Torres," he paused for dramatic effect, "informed me that Kevin Lynch's _emergency _transfer request ended up on his desk signed by _Strauss_, as a _personal favour._"

"What does that mean?" Prentiss asked, looking at Rossi sideways with a wary look on her face.

"That either means Lynch has something on Strauss, and thus found a way to make her comply, _or," _Rossi hesitated, "_or_ they are working together on this for some insane reason."

"But _why?_" JJ cried out. "_What_ in the world could they possibly gain from this?"

Rossi sat down at the table, followed by an increasingly impatient Morgan who was wearing holes in the carpet.

"Morgan is right. We need to find Penelope right now, we will ask questions later. This much plotting shows Lynch is much more dangerous than we thought," Hotch reasoned. "Does he have a place here?"

"Torres said they set him up with a hotel room for his stay because it came so sudden but he hasn't checked in there, and assured him he would be moving in with his _girlfriend_," Rossi stated, a disgusted tone to his voice.

"Did you find her cellphone when you went through her apartment?" Reid asked immediately, a plan forming in his mind.

"No, it's the only thing that was missing," Morgan answered.

"It was ringing out when we tried to call her, right? Not shut off." The others nodded.

Reid immediately jumped into action, taking Garcia's laptop and searching for locator software. Only a couple of minutes later he looked up with a triumphant smile.

"Ta-daaa!"

The red blimp on the screen gave them hope. Especially because it was moving, which lessened the chances Lynch had thrown her phone out.

"Excellent work, Reid," Hotch said with a small smile, giving the younger agent's shoulder a quick squeeze.

**A/N: Coming up next: chase, confrontation, will they arrive in time and will Kevin see reason? **


	10. At last, we meet

**A/N: I'm so, so sorry this took so long, especially because I said "soon" and then waited a week. Truth is, I've been completely side-tracked by Glee and Jericho, I have a horribly short attention span so this comes as no surprise, and once my attention is shot the Muse always manages to sneak out from under my eyes. Promise, next time I finish the story before I start posting. Anyway, I hope some of you are still reading. **

**Finally, we encounter Lynch! **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, at all. It all belongs to the &^%$^%$&* at CBS who fired AJ Cook :( **

The team did not waste any more time as they stormed out of the door while Hotch divided them over the SUVs. Reid took the laptop with him, keeping his eyes on the rapidly moving dot.

"They are speeding up," he urged the rest of them, "They seem to be leaving the city, they'll be on the expressway for miles."

"How far?" Hotch asked, keeping his eyes on the road.

"Considering rush hour traffic, the distance to catch up to them, I'd say they have 2 hours on us, give or take," Reid quickly calculated.

"So if Lynch doesn't stop, or just for gas, we could be chasing them forever," Morgan threw his hands up in a desperate gesture.

"Right. Reid, grab the map and find us an alternate way to cut them off." Hotch barked at the genius on the back seat, who was desperately trying to juggle the laptop and the oversized map of LA they found in the glove box.

"Turn left here!" he yelled, causing Hotch to brake violently to make the sharp turn. In the SUV behind them Prentiss barely had the time to react but she managed to catch up with them.

"Are you out of your mind?" JJ's voice sounded over the radio, "Two inches more and we were redecorating that corner!" They heard Rossi muttering in Italian in the background, without understanding the words they knew it had to be some pretty colourful insults.

"Sorry!" Reid started, before yelling "LEFT!" again, earning him more abuse from his colleagues as well as few death threats from a loudly swearing Prentiss.

"I really need more notice, _Reid,_" Hotch scowled at the increasingly nervous doctor behind him. Reid just nodded, thankful there were no turns for a while.

XxXxXxX

They had been driving relatively uneventfully for two hours now, growing increasingly impatient with every extra mile. They'd had to stop for gas, something Hotch would rather not repeat with a furious Morgan sitting next to him. The man had nearly ripped the pump apart trying to get it to work faster, and only their FBI credentials had saved them from wasting even more time explaining that one to the station's owner. Lynch stayed on the expressway, but with every passing exit they knew they could start losing him.

"Reid, are you _sure_ we are catching up on them?" Morgan asked for the 14th time. Spencer had been keeping a tally of all the insane questions thrown at him.

"Yes, we are making a circle around them, so given that our cars drive 5 mph faster than his, we are not only catching up on him but our shorter way will allow us to cut them off in approximately an hour," he answered patiently, for the 18th time. Hotchner had been able to restrain himself, he thought.

"Are you sure this is the way to go?" Rossi's voice sounded over the radio. Reid groaned, not even bothering to answer. "Yes," was all Hotch answered, and Reid graced him with a thankful smile.

XxXxXxX

"They stopped," Reid announced suddenly, his eyes kept firmly on the screen and the map in front of him. "Half an hour, and we have them," he predicted, gaining more hope now that the chase seemed to come to an end.

Morgan leaned back in his seat, running his hands over his face, relieved the car ride was coming to an end. He didn't want to admit it, but his arm and leg were hurting him much more than he expected. Typical he had to go and get himself shot at such a time, and _twice _even because he never did any half work. He shook his head. "_Pen is going to kill me when she sees me,"_ he thought, a small smile playing on his lips.

As promised, half an hour later Reid had Hotch pull over in a suburban street. "We're still two streets away but I didn't want to run the risk Lynch was out on foot with her and spotted us," he explained while the team gathered in the SUV. "We have to hurry, in case they get moving again."

They quickly ran to the street the computer indicated by Penelope's cellphone GPS tracker, where Hotch rounded them up, divided them in teams and ordered Morgan, who looked incredulous at that request, to lay back.

"Morgan, you're in no shape to go in first, so I won't hear it, understood?" Hotch intentionally barked at him, hoping that at least it would make the bald man think twice about doing something rash. He didn't harbour any illusions that Morgan wasn't going to storm in and be Penelope's hero anyway.

"Prentiss, you and I go first," Hotch said, in a calmer tone, knowing he was taking Morgan's place in their usual tactical plan, "Rossi and Reid go round back, and finally JJ, you come behind us with Morgan."

"If he tries to do anything heroic, you have my permission to shoot him," Rossi added with a small smirk.

"Who's kicking in the door?" Reid picked up on Rossi's attempt to lighten the palpable tension.

"You volunteering, kid? Come on people let's go!" the older man launched their assault.

XxXxXx

Hotch and Prentiss approached the door as cautiously as possible, making their way to both sides of the door. Fortunately for them, the door was not locked and they quickly gained entrance. On their radio they could hear Rossi and Reid coming in on the backside. All rooms on the ground floor were empty, and when JJ and Morgan came in they gathered in front of the staircase, just as they heard a stumbling noise upstairs.

Just as Hotch had suspected, and before he could stop him, Morgan launched himself forward, up the stairs, only to stop dead in his tracks when he found himself face to face with a smiling Kevin who was coming down.

"Agent Morgan! What a surprise, what do I owe your visit to?" Kevin asked in a conversational tone, as if entertaining fully equipped FBI agents was a regular occurrence, "Oh and there's the rest of the team! A special occasion?" He smirked, looking each of them in the eyes.

".Penelope?" Morgan asked with a strained voice, slowly moving up, his gun still aimed at the seemingly amused Lynch, whose expression now hardened.

"_My girlfriend_," Lynch started, interrupted by an angry growl from Morgan.

"Cut the games, Lynch," he spat, "we know what you did. She left me a _second_ note. Now where is she?"

"As I was saying, _Morgan_," Kevin paused, "_my girlfriend – _or I guess I can now say _fiancée - _is not here. She is with my mother planning our wedding." He shot them a triumphant smile when he saw he was getting under their skin. Morgan saw red, seething with rage, trying to get close enough to his opponent to take him out without shooting him, in case Penelope really wasn't there.

With just a little movement of his head Hotch discreetly signalled JJ and Reid to go and find out as much as they could about Lynch's mother. They ran out of the house back to the SUVs, pulling out the laptop while the rest of the team kept Kevin under shot. Just then they heard a sound of something falling over coming from the first floor, and all their glances shot upwards in the direction of the noise. Kevin immediately took advantage of the fact they were distracted for a few seconds to scurry up the stairs. Morgan ran after him, cursing inwardly that he couldn't be faster because of his wounds; he was closely followed by the rest of the team. Arriving in the hall, they heard a door slam.

Carefully they made their way, checking every room they encountered for a sign of Pen. They came up clear, leaving them just one room straigh ahead from the landing.

Leaning in to the door, Morgan could hear soft crying, whimpers he immediately recognized. Hotch moved up to Morgan, taking control over the situation, which earned him another growl from him.

_On three_, he signalled, counting on his fingers, and then he threw the door open. The sight in front of their eyes froze all of them for a moment.

XxXxXxX

Kevin was hovering over a chair, a gun pressed to the temple of a crying Penelope, who was bound to a wooden chair. Her hair was a mess, she had bruises on her face and on her arms, and with a sickening feeling growing in his stomach Morgan noticed her dress was ripped and stained with blood. She looked at him with her big brown eyes full of fear, mixed with a hint of relief that he had come for her, and his first instinct was to run over to her and wrap her in his arms to keep her safe.

"Not so fast, Agent," Kevin stopped him, pressing the gun closer to Pen's head. "Come any closer, and I shoot."

Morgan held up his arms, not wanting to antagonize the man in front of him any further, as it truly seemed the bland geek they usually all more or less ignored had now completely lost his mind. He paced behind the chair, keeping the gun aimed at Pen who didn't take her eyes off Morgan. He gazed back at her, trying to silently reassure her, and he knew when she stopped crying so much that it had a least worked a little. _Even now she still has so much faith in me, _he realised, humbled by the thought.

"What do you want, Lynch?" Hotch took over from Morgan, trying to break the tension between both men, hoping Kevin would be more reasonable with anyone other.

"I am not letting you take her away from me again!" he yelled his answer, "she will come with me. Put your guns down!"

Rossi was first to put his gun down, followed by Hotch and Prentiss.

"Okay man, we just want to talk," Rossi soothed, taking a step closer.

"_Put your gun down!" _Lynch yelled again, directly speaking to Morgan again. The bald man hesitated, trying to get as close to Pen as possible, but Kevin took the gun away from her head and aimed it at Morgan now. "Step back!"

Derek surrendered, putting his weapon down, taking a step back again.

"Kevin, it's over. Let Penelope go, you have no other choice," Rossi came again, with the same soothing voice he'd used earlier.

"NEVER!" the crazy man almost screamed, moving his aim from Morgan to Rossi. Just then a shot rang out, and Kevin stumbled to his knees, trying to hold himself up against a now sobbing Penelope. They turned around, and saw JJ and Reid, who had come back from the cars, standing in the doorway with drawn weapons. JJ's weapon was still smoking, Hotch, Rossi and Emily gave her a thankful nod.

Morgan crossed the distance between him and his baby girl in less than a second, pushing Kevin and his gun away from her. Hotch quickly checked for his pulse, surprised he found one despite the bullet in the man's head, and yelled for an ambulance to be called.

"Make that two ambulances," Morgan said softly, looking at Pen. "Shh, you're going to be okay," he murmured in her hair, untying her as fast as he could before wrapping his arms around her and holding her as tight as he could. He couldn't help but notice she winced in pain when he did that, she was shivering and holding her arms in front of her, trying to keep her torn dress together. JJ and Emily came up to them, hugging her too, before surveying the damage Lynch had done to her. Besides the bruises to her head, they suspected cracked ribs and she had some rather nasty cuts on her arms and legs as well.

JJ crouched in front of her, her eyes filled with compassion for her best friend, and she gently put her hands on Pen's arms, to reassure her too that everything was going to be okay. She looked at the ripped dress, and swallowed hard.

"Pen, I have to ask you this, did he...?" JJ didn't finish her question, knowing Penelope knew very well what she was asking. The redhead looked at her with sad eyes, and just nodded. JJ looked away, a feeling of disgust for what Lynch had done showing on her face. Morgan closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and pulled her even closer into his embrace. He wanted her to feel safe, and was half-relieved she accepted his touch. Prentiss cursed, looking away too, while Rossi and Hotch, who had been tending to Kevin, barely masked their anger towards him. Reid, who had been calling for medical assistance, just stood there quietly, before turning around and going downstairs to flag down the ambulances.

He returned five minutes later with the medics, who quickly loaded up Kevin on a stretcher and took him outside. Another team came in, to take care of Pen, but she didn't want to let go of Derek so they could check her over.

"Please, don't let me go," she spoke softly, her first words since they had come into the room.

"Never," he reassured her, before picking her up and carrying her to the ambulance himself, the pain in his arm and leg forgotten. As she rested her head on his chest and he held her so close to his heart, he knew they were going to be okay. They had to.

**A/N Happy now? I gather there's going to be a confrontation with Strauss next, as well as some dealing with the trauma, probably a little relaxing time with the team but really it's up to you, what you want to read, I'll take requests as I've never written anything with a lovey-dovey/happy ending lol. I have an idea where it could be going though. However, I think the closest I ever got was my succubus serving the revenge of her first choice of a victim who then got away – anyway I digress. What do you want to read? **


	11. You didn't think it'd work, did you?

**A/N: Just got back from holidays in Germany, where I had no internet connection most of the time (stupid roaming laws cut me off after day 2). Anyway, here's the next installment, we're on our way to closure now, just a few wrinkles to iron out but no nobody will get hurt any more ;) Except for Strauss, and Lynch, of course ;) **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. **

Penelope passed out before arriving at the hospital, Morgan still holding her hand while she was being assessed on the gurney by the medics. He was clutching his arm with the other hand, feeling his accelerated heart-rate even worse in his wound.

"Sir, sir!" he vaguely heard the EMT yelling at him, in his daze he only had eyes and ears for his love laying there motionless in front of him, her dress now completely open. He knew it was so they could take a better look at her cracked ribs and try and asses if one had damaged her lungs, and he knew they had cut the fabric as respectfully as the urgency allowed, but his mind was boiling over with anger at the violation, hurt and humiliation she must have felt when Lynch... when he _forced_ her. He tried not to let his mind wander _there_, even though his job usually demanded he go beyond what was unspeakable, he tried to shut off that part of his brain and just focus on his baby girl.

"Sir!" the other EMT, a tiny blonde with fire in her eyes, now yelled at him too. "Are you okay?"

He nodded, his throat suddenly too dry to answer. Inside, he wanted to scream that no, he was not okay, that his world was laying unconscious in front of him, but outwardly he was SSA Derek Morgan, agent and profiler to the core. He owed that to her. He couldn't take even a second of attention from her, not after he already failed her. He should've thrown caution to the wind, not listened to Hotch and Rossi when they convinced him to play along and not jeopardize his job, because they _had_ broken frat rules and they needed a solid case against Strauss. _"And Lynch,"_ he thought bitterly, but he had been too busy focussing on the case, to get it over with as soon as possible, and on Strauss, and on missing Pen with every cell of his body. He should've seen the signs, even before their section chief had confronted them with the pictures.

After a short ride which seemed to last hours to Derek, they finally reached the hospital, where Penelope was taken straight into emergency care.

"You can't go in there with her, sir, not right away. Do you need medical attention? You are bleeding, sir? Come with me please, this way," a rattling but very authoritative and effective nurse directed him towards an exam room. He vaguely heard her saying something to a passing doctor, all he remembered was "fbi agent, shock, bleeding" but whatever she said, it worked because seconds later a doctor presenting himself as Dr. Mitchell came in, cutting straight to the point.

"Show me your arm, agent," he asked, and Morgan complied, still staring out in front of him, consumed by guilt and _what if_-scenarios. The wound was slowly bleeding again, courtesy of several ripped stitches, probably from when he pushed Lynch away or picked up Pen. He didn't know, and didn't care. All he felt was _her_ pain, anyway. Mitchell didn't seem too worried about it either, quickly suturing it back up.

"Must've been one hell of a shooter huh, to miss your tattoo by so little," he tried to make some conversation, but it fell on deaf ears. Finally done, he sat back, studying Derek's face, trying to decide whether a psych eval was necessary or not. The nurse from earlier came back in, and he questioned her with his eyes about what happened. She whispered something in his ear, how he had been riding in the ambulance with an unconscious trauma victim.

Mitchell, who was not known for his superb psychological skills but liked to think emergency doctors where whatever their patients needed them to be, then made the mistake he would regret for the rest of his career, changing his views on many things.

"Come on, show us a little courage here, be a man about it. She's not the first, nor the last trauma victim coming in here, or that you have seen." he first tried, figuring he was sitting in front of an alpha male whose pride he surely could play.

Derek's eyes shot up, looking at the doctor in front of him incredulously. Satisfied with this reaction, Mitchell poked on, mentally congratulating himself he wouldn't have to play phone tag with the psychology department to get someone to see his patient before he could sign them off.

"She's going to be okay, nurse Ennis here tells me, another poor girl saved huh? She just had a little too much stress today, that's all!" he ended on a cheery note.

His life was saved in justesse by the rest of the team who had arrived at the hospital after calling in local police to secure Lynch in his hospital room, and heard Derek yelling a slur of insults at an unknown source. When they heard metal equipment scattering on the floor, they make a beeline towards the door of the exam room and came in just in time to prevent Morgan from grabbing Dr. Mitchell by the collar and sticking him to the wall.

XxXxXxX

The waiting room game then began, something all of them felt they had been playing way too often, way too long. JJ remembered the first time they had been waiting on news about Penelope, just a few years ago, and hoped the outcome would be as positive as then. Prentiss was sitting next to her, just like then, and this time it was JJ grabbing Emily's hand, in a comforting but all too familiar gesture.

Hotch and Rossi had taken off again, pleading their case with the LAPD and the regional FBI office, and trying to get as much information about Lynch's condition as they could. They met up with the rest of the team at the hospital, Hotch gathering them up to start a quick debriefing just when a doctor dressed in scrubs came out of the double doors of the ICU. He looked around, as if reluctant to interrupt the group since several of them still were wearing their FBI bulletproof vests.

"Euhm, excuse me, are any of you here for Penelope Garcia?" he walked up to them, taking off his mask and gloves. Morgan jumped up when hearing him, wincing a little as his leg protested the brutal treatment of the day, the rest of the team followed suit. The doctor looked at each of them, hesitant.

"Aaron Hotchner, Penelope's unit chief," Hotch extended his hand, hoping to put in some official weight to get information. The doctor took it, his lips curling in a regretful smile.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Hotchner, I can only divulge information about Mrs. Garcia's condition to her family," he apologized.

"She doesn't have any family, we are her next of-..." Hotch countered, but he was interrupted by Morgan, who had been looking at the floor awaiting the news, but who now lifted his gaze to look the doctor right into the eyes. "I'm her fiancé."

To their credit, the rest of the team did not show any external signs of their surprise, gasping only inwardly, as the doctor seized up Morgan, choosing to believe him when he saw the apparent hurt in his eyes.

"Very well then. Mrs. Garcia will be fine. She has suffered multiple hits and traumas, but none that will leave lasting consequences. She has several cuts, these will take time to scar. As for her ribs, she broke two, and bruised the others, but they did not do any internal damage. We also did a rape kit, we are waiting on the police to come collect the evidence. I'm sorry." He glanced at Morgan.

Morgan closed his eyes, not wanting to think about what that meant, even though he knew he'd have to face it, if only to help Pen.

"Thank you, doctor," Hotch stepped in, taking over from Morgan, "Can we see her?"

"I don't see why not, she will be up in a room in about half an hour, perhaps 45 minutes depending on how busy they are. I'll have someone take you to the waiting room upstairs."

With a curt nod, he left the team, before halting and turning around towards them again. "Just one more thing, she's psychologically very frail. I don't think it would be advisable to interrogate her or stress her too much right now." He nodded again, and then went through the double doors again.

Just a minute later a nurse escorted them into a large waiting area on the first floor, and instructed them to wait until someone came to show them Penelope's room. They sat in silence, until a curious Emily could no longer keep her mouth shut.

"Fiancé, huh? Does Pen know?" she smirked.

Derek shot her a sideways glance, before resting his head back in his hands.

"As a matter of fact, Prentiss, yes she does." He shrugged. "Figured we wasted enough time already."

JJ shook her head. "Too much shocks in one day, wow, congratulations!" she smiled, but Derek was once again trapped in his thoughts, accepting her wishes with a faint smile while the others echoed JJ's sentiments.

XxXxXxX

When a nurse finally came to get them, Morgan went into Pen's room first, a little hesitantly, knowing that she was in pain but mostly not knowing how she would react when seeing him. His fears quickly disappeared when she looked at him with a mix of loving, frailness and hurt in her eyes, and he rushed over to her, taking her in his arms gently but as firmly as possible without hurting her.

"I love you," he murmured against her ear, his voice raw with emotions.

"I need you," she answered, tightening her grip on him.

"You got me," he settled her back into the pillows, tucking a loose strand of hair back behind her ear, his palm resting on her cheek for a minute, his other hand holding hers tightly. She smiled at him, then looked past him at JJ who peeked in, no longer able to wait to see her best friend. When she saw Pen smiling, she rushed in to her other side, hugging her one-armedly, quickly followed by the others.

Suddenly shy, Penelope looked down at her hands instead of at her family standing around the bed, silent tears welling up.

"I'm so sorry for causing you all so much trouble," she sniffed.

"_Bella,_ you are no trouble, you are family," Rossi reassured her.

"You're not responsible for this Pen, Lynch and Strauss are," Emily added.

Pen's eyes shot up, wide open. "Lynch?" she inquired, closing them again. Everyone looked at Hotch and Rossi, who had the latest news on him.

"He got a bullet in his head, it didn't kill him, but lodged itself firmly in the area of his skull responsible for motor skills. He will probably survive as a tetraplegic, the doctor said," Hotch filled them in.

"Damn, I've lost my aim," JJ mumbled to herself, but loud enough for everyone to hear it.

"Yeah Morgan, I'd watch out if I were you, that's two of Pen's dates she shoots in the head," Prentiss joked, relieving the tension as everyone laughed, Penelope included.

"Okay everyone, I'm sure Penelope needs her rest," Hotch gathered them up. "Morgan, you stay here, while the rest of us go back to the FBI offices. We have official permission from the local director to sort out this case, he cleared it with Quantico over Strauss's head so she can't make us anything. But we still need to figure out her role. We'll come back as soon as we have more news, and then," he looked at Penelope, "then you will have to tell us everything that happened when you were here, are you feeling up to that?"

She nodded, snuggling closer to Derek, clutching his arm. "I'll be ready, boss man."

One by one they filtered out of the room, making their way to the elevators, except for Reid, who was fumbling with his phone.

"Aren't you going with them?" Morgan asked, shooting him a curious glance.

"Yeah, I'm going, I'll see you later!" Reid ran out of the room, catching up with the others. "Just a second guys, there's something I need to do before we go."

He left the rest of the team puzzled while he made his way over to the emergency room, where he asked for Kevin Lynch. Flashing his FBI badge, he was shown to the room where the man lay, guarded by a local LEO at the door, not that he was going anywhere.

"I'll be brief," Reid told the officer, peeking in, hoping against better knowing that Lynch would be awake already. To his surprise, the man was indeed staring at the ceiling, something he was going to do very often in his future.

"Hey Kevin!" Reid greeted him cheerfully, as if seeing an old friend, "I heard you weren't really going to recover from that bullet in your head, so uhm, considering that you're going to stay like this for the rest of your life, I thought I'd drop by to give you some news about your friends."

He grinned, and pulled out his phone, displaying a picture of Morgan and Garcia, cuddling close on her hospital bed. He held it above Lynch, watching the expression in his eyes change when he saw the couple together.

"They're going to be absolutely fine. Isn't that great news? Did you know they were engaged?" He paused, as if considering something.

"I figure you need your rest, Kevin," he continued, watching the anger in the paralysed man's eyes, "don't worry, I'll keep you updated. See you later!"

With a smirk on his face he rejoined the others, who were still just as puzzled as when he left them. They questioned him with their eyes when he arrived, hands in his pockets, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Just needed to give someone an update of sorts," he smiled, and they understood.

**I know you all wanted to see Kevin dead, but I figured psychological torture is a really fun game to play. Reid is probably OOC there, but I do think he would be capable of it so I hope it's not too much of a stretch. And then again, screw that, Lynch deserves it LOL. **

**Next up: what happened, and how did Strauss and Lynch get to work together? **


	12. but why?

**A/N: Taking my time with updates right now, sorry, but real life is taking over with back to work and stuff. In fact I'm procrastinating on work to write this ;) (I work from home). Plus I turned 30 yesterday and I'm not celebrating which is a bummer too lol.**

**Anyway on with the show. Not long anymore now. **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. **

During the ride back to the LA bureau they were mostly silent, their thoughts still with Morgan and Garcia in the hospital, but also trying to make sense of how Lynch and Strauss almost managed to take out Penelope, and most importantly, why.

"What'd you tell him, Reid?" Emily asked from the back seat, breaking the tension reigning in the car. There being only five of them, they had taken just one SUV, leaving the other one at the hospital.

"Just that Morgan and Garcia were going to be allright, and I'd continue showing him pictures," he grinned, they were all relieved at least Kevin couldn't hurt Pen anymore, that was one less thing to worry about.

Hotch, who was driving, looked sideways with a chuckle "Just make sure nobody finds out. It wouldn't hold up in court. And that's where I plan on nailing him, tetraplegic or not."

XxXxXxX

Torres was waiting for them by the time they had braved the LA traffic and stepped inside the bureau. He looked relieved to see them, urged them into his office, where they took seat on the available chairs and couch.

"How are your teammates?" Torres asked, hurriedly, locking his door behind him, "are they safe?"

"They are at the hospital," Hotch answered, one eyebrow raised, "Morgan needed a bit of repair work on his injuries but nothing bad, and Garcia well ... she'll heal pretty quickly physically. Emotionally ..."

"Good, good," Torres answered, sitting down. "You better get them out of there as soon as possible. I wanted to call you as soon as I heard but ..."

"Spill it, Torres, what is going on?" Rossi asked impatiently.

"Strauss sent Internal Affairs down, for an apparent breach in security, insubordination, breach of the fraternization rules, and I believe she tossed some compromising of official investigations in for good measure. That woman is crazy!" he scoffed.

"We received our orders directly from the director in Quantico, we went above her, she cannot make us anything," Hotch argumented.

"Tell that to IA, you know how they are, when they smell blood they won't let up, I kept them in the upstairs offices so far but they are planning to go to the hospital to interrogate your agent and your tech," Torres warned. "There's only so much I can do."

Prentiss opened her phone, hit 2 on speed dial, flipped back her hair in an impatient gesture while she waited for the connection.

"Morgan, get out of the hospital as soon as you can. Strauss sent Internal Affairs down and they want to talk to you and Pen. Take the SUV we left, and meet us at the hotel." She didn't wait for him to ask any questions, knowing he wouldn't have any and would probably already be packing up what little belongings Pen had with her and sorting out a doctor for release papers and pain meds.

They quickly gathered their stuff and made their way back to the SUV, Torres following them. It was rather cramped in the back of the vehicle with six people in it, but now they were glad they left the other car at the hospital, even though Morgan was technically not supposed to drive yet.

Fortunately the drive was short for both parties, and less than an hour later they were sitting together in the living room of their suite. Garcia was propped up on the couch, as comfortable as possible, but she was still in great pain. Morgan sat next to her in a comfortable chair.

"I really wish she would have stayed in the hospital a while longer," Morgan said, his hand softly stroking her arm, hoping she would at least get some rest, but Hotch seemed determined.

"Me too, Morgan, but I'd rather have Penelope tell us what was going on so we can try and solve this case rather than have her bullied by IA and sent away again," the unit chief shot him a worried glance, knowing the adrenalin would wear off at _some_ point.

"Let's start from the beginning," Rossi interrupted him, focusing back on the case at hand.

"So Strauss invites Morgan and Garcia in her office, tells them Pen is transferred for breaking the fraternization rules without any kind of warning, pulling out compromising pictures which are obviously fake," Reid started, "Why, and where did she get the pictures?"

"They are obviously photoshopped, but from real pictures taken of you two," Prentiss fell in, looking at both Derek and Pen, "pictures obviously taken with the dozen cameras hidden in your apartment, Pen. Now who did this, why and when?"

"The cameras are state-of-the-art technology, something counter-terrorism would use," JJ added.

"Counter-terrorism, of course," Pen slapped her forehead, "now it makes sense!"

"Why is that, baby girl?" Derek looked at her puzzled. None of them were any wiser, they all knew Kevin was behind this but not how.

"Remember how I told you in the beginning we dated, that Kevin surprised me with a romantic dinner and he had turned off the breakers so I would be in the dark when I came home?"

They all nodded, Morgan with a grimace. He remembered Pen gushing about that particular event, he had found it creepy but hadn't said anything. Now he regretted that.

"He regularly did things like that," she confessed, an embarrassed blush on her face. "He locked me out another time, while he was busy preparing us dinner, yeah anyway," she quickly continued, finding it hard to admit she went along with this at one time. "One day I came home, the door was locked from the inside, and it took a while for him to open the door, and the breakers were out again." She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. Thinking about Kevin brought back all the memories of the last few days too.

"Go on," Rossi encouraged her, realising how hard this was for a still exhausted Pen.

"I figured he was planning another surprise, even though I told him to quit it because I was still a bit jumpy from Battle and all, but he insisted... - anyway, there was this girl, and he claimed he was going to make us dinner when she showed up at my door to have her laptop fixed. I didn't know her, so I didn't even ask how she knew my address, I just figured Kevin..." she paused, thinking about the situation. "Anyway, I didn't ask too many questions, but I do remember she was from counter-terrorism. Her name was Anna- no, something with an A,.."

"Alicia, maybe?" Prentiss offered.

"Alicia, yes that's it! How did you know?"

Prentiss looked at Morgan, who groaned, but she didn't want to hurt Pen by reminding her of his old conquests, so she quickly tried to come up with something plausible.

"Alicia is the one who said she didn't know what an orgasm was before Mo-" Reid interjected, when a pillow thwacked him upside the head.

"Hey! What was that for?" he yelped, turning around at glaring JJ.

"Oh. Right." he quickly admitted defeat.

"Okay, so let's assume that was the night they installed the cameras, it would make sense, the locked doors, electricity turned off, not only did it give them cover but it would also facilitate the installment of the cameras we found in the fixtures," Hotch rounded up the topic before they were side-tracked, "But why would this Alicia have gone along with this?"

"They seemed to be old friends," Penelope remarked. Officially she wasn't a profiler and she claimed she never wanted to be one, but she did pick up quite some observational skills from working with them so closely all the time. "They were chatting while I fixed her laptop. It was something trivial, Kevin could've easily done it, but at the time I didn't think perhaps they just didn't want me in the same room as them." she added quietly.

"Alicia helps Kevin as a favour, for an old friend. What's in it for her?" Hotch asked again. "She is taking a big risk here, not only does she have to get the cameras out of the bureau but she also needs to make sure nobody finds them."

"And what possessed Lynch to even do this, and take such big risks? This wasn't even a jealousy issue, not at the time?" Morgan added in an exasperated tone.

"Actually it was, a jealousy issue, I mean," Pen said softly. Looking sheepishly, she added: "He was always so jealous of you. Said I felt more for you than for him. That I just settled because I couldn't have you, things like that. I guess maybe he wanted to see if there was any true reason for it."

"Assuming his motive was jealousy, we need to find out what made him convince Alicia and more importantly, how he got involved with Strauss. And we need proof." Hotch said pensively.

"Spencer, sweetie, could you get me my laptop?" Pen asked sweetly, sitting up right.

"Baby girl, you really shouldn't..." Morgan started to protest, but Pen lifted her hand to quieten him, a determined look on her face.

"Hot stuff, we need to find this out now rather than later, and do you know anyone else who can hack into Kevin's and Strauss's computers without leaving a trace or a warrant? I didn't think so. Perhaps I'll find nothing much, but at least I'll have tried and I'm pretty sure I'll find the photoshopped pictures there too, and that's something..." she spoke quickly, before Reid returned and she fired up her laptop, her aches and pains forgotten in front of the task waiting for her.

She started typing away while the rest of the team gathered around her.

XxXxXxX

Hotch had motioned Morgan and JJ to join him into one of the suite's bedrooms. He quickly shut the door behind him.

"Morgan, did Penelope tell you anything at the hospital about what happened with Lynch?" he asked, cutting straight to the point.

"No, nothing that we didn't already know." Derek shook his head, trying not to think about the pain she had been and was going through.

"How is she handling it?" Hotch looked at both of them now, knowing they were Pen's best friends and could probably read her better than anyone else.

"Not well, from what I can see," JJ hesitated, she had not had the time to have a real conversation with Garcia yet, but she knew the other blonde had no secrets for her.

"She's jumpy, shies away from touch initially, she keeps stealing glances around like she expects him to come through the door again, and she's exhausted. I barely dare touching her out of fear she will retreat completely." Morgan corroborated.

"Can we interrogate her?" Hotch already knew the answer to that question, but he wanted to try it anyway. Both Morgan and JJ shook their heads simultaneously.

"Alright. We all better get some rest, we are all exhausted and will be able to think clearer after some sleep." With these words, Hotch left the room again, preparing to announce that they were taking a break to the rest of the team.

XxXxXxX

"Alright I'm in!" Pen exclaimed just as Hotch made it back. "Oh God. No." She paled, making Morgan rush to her side. He looked at the laptop, and gulped himself. The master list of files on Kevin's computer showed hundreds of directories with pictures and videos in it, almost all labeled with "Penelope", a place and a date. Not wanting to look too much at details right away, she continued browsing the files.

"Bingo," she muttered after five minutes, more to herself than anyone else.

"What did you find?" Prentiss asked, jumped up from her seat around the table.

"Email traffic between Strauss and Kevin and between Alicia and Kevin," Pen answered, a small smile playing on her lips. She scoffed. "He really did think his silly protection would keep me away. HAH!"

Morgan put his arm around her should, dropping a kiss on her temple. "You're the best, sweetheart," he murmured in her ear, his heart bleeding because he felt her stiffen under his touch first, before relaxing against him.

"Anything specific in there?" Reid asked, interrupting their moment.

"I'm searchi-..." Pen started, before a series of beeps came from her laptop. "Got it!" She started reading something, shaking her head at the words on her screen.

"Well, it seems like Miss Alicia here had quite some debt, which Kevin helped erase thanks to dubious money transfers." she started, having her search programmes continue looking through all the files. "And a crush on Morgan too!" she added, her expression a little less bright suddenly, but Morgan pulled her closer to him, wordlessly reassuring her she was the only one for him.

"Makes sense," JJ pondered. "If she needed money so badly, Kevin could have easily called in a favour from his childhood friend, knowing she couldn't go to the police. And getting a chance to console a heartbroken Morgan in the end was probably not far from her thoughts either."

"Did you find anything about Strauss?" Rossi urged her on.

"Well, yes. It seems our Wicked Witch here saw her chance to break up the team, but also that she wanted me out of the way so I would no longer monitor the network," Pen said slowly, a puzzled look on her face mixed with anger and hurt finding out she had been personally targeted.

"But why? Does it say anything?" Reid wondered, although he saw on Penelope's face she was none the wiser.

Keeping a close eye on Pen, Hotch called a break.

"Alright people, let's all get some rest, so we can start tomorrow morning with a fresh outlook."

They all stood, dividing the bedrooms between them, while Torres left with the promise to be back the next morning. It had been a long day, and they were glad to rest.


	13. The list of offenses, it grows

**A/N This keeps getting longer and longer, doesn't it? I'm still having fun with it, so we'll see where this takes us ;) Taking a while, because it's busy with everything right now, and then I had to rewrite a part. I hope you enjoy! **

**Slightly bigger chapter than usual, but I didn't want to leave you hanging (too much) ;) **

**Warning: discusses violence and rape. **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

Dividing the bedrooms was a no-brainer. JJ and Emily took one, Morgan and Garcia the other, leaving Hotch, Rossi and Reid to share the pull-out couches in the living room between them.

"Morgan," Hotch leaned over to him, keeping his voice down, "I don't expect your nor Garcia for our meeting tomorrow morning. Rest. You both need it, and we'll wake you if we need you. Understood?"

Morgan, who was looking worse for wear, didn't have the strength to fight his superior. He knew he could use a break, however small it was, and he knew even better that Garcia needed a lot more rest than she had been able to get so far. He just wasn't sure whether it was best if he stayed with her or not.

"Hotch, I don't know if..." he didn't get any further, before Hotch cut him off.

"She does, Morgan, she does." He nodded at his agent, who was already making his way towards the room where JJ was helping Garcia undress. He was exhausted, as it had been the longest day of his life.

XxXxXxX

Morgan was sitting on the edge of the king sized bed, hesitating. He tried not to stare at Pen, who was sitting against the headboard, her knees pulled to her chest, lost in her thoughts. For once, he was at loss for words, not knowing how to comfort her, how to make things better. He so desperately wanted to tell her that everything was going to be alright, that nothing had changed between them, but he didn't want to push her and lose her anyway, so he just sat, waiting for a cue, a reaction, anything that would tell him how she felt and how he was supposed to act around her now.

She had needed him at the hospital, he knew that much. But she also retreated into herself once they had gotten out, as if the new adrenalin rush had brought her back from the shock she was in, back to reality, where he had failed her for the second time and handn't kept her safe. Where she cringed...

He watched as she got under the covers, still not speaking a word. She was shaking, he could see it even through the comforter.

"Sweetheart...," he reached out for her, cautiously. She looked at him with big, wide eyes, and he couldn't stand by at the sidelines anymore, it was stronger than him, he needed to hold her just as much for him as for her. Within seconds, he was under the covers with her, holding her shivering body until she calmed down in his arms, the lingering fear retreating far enough for her breathing to slow down until she was fast asleep.

Derek wanted to fight sleep, just wanted to revel in the feeling of finally holding her again, but soon he was overcome too, still wrapped around her.

XxXxXxX

Derek felt like he had barely slept when he was awoken by a sharp pain in his arm and Penelope trashing around. Her face was covered in sweat, contorted in a painful mask.

"Shhh, it's okay," he tried to calm her, but she was so far gone in her nightmare he couldn't reach her and for a moment panic settled on his features. Softly shaking her he tried to wake her up, bring her back to where he could shield her, it wasn't working yet he didn't want to scare her either by being more insisting. Finally he just held her close, rubbing her arms, until she did startle awake, sitting up in the bed with big, anxious eyes.

"I got you," he murmured over and over against her hair while the tears were streaming from her eyes.

"I'm so sorry, so sorry Derek," she whispered, almost inaudible.

"It's not your fault baby, the only one to blame is Lynch," he reassured her, falling back on his profiler training and knowing she was going to blame herself first.

"No, really, I should have told you when he came to see me in LA, he never told me he transferred, he just said he had come on a special assignment and like a fool I believed him until he showed up on my doorstep and made me write that letter and threatened me with his gun," she turned around at him, her mouth slightly agape, bottom lip trembling, her hair mussed and he couldn't help but thinking his whole world was sitting in front of him.

"You couldn't know. What he told you was plausible Pen. He took advantage of your goodness and vulnerability," he soothed her, leaning her back against his chest, his lean fingers slowly caressing her shoulders.

"That's the point, hot stuff," she continued, and his heart soared a little when he heard her using an endearment for him. "I spent nearly three years of my life with someone who is capable of _..._of... I don't even have words for it! First I get shot by a man on our first date, and just a few weeks later I fall into the arms of a future unsub! While I could have had you... What is wrong with me?"

"Nothing's wrong with you." He pulled her closer to him, holding her even tighter. "You just don't believe enough that good things _are_ meant for you. But it's over now. It's over now..." he reassured her, and himself, at the same time.

"He kept telling me you were with me out of pity," she whispered, her fingers trailing the same line on his arm with her fingers over and over again, staring out in front of her. "That it wasn't right for us to be together. That I wasn't your type, but that he knew how to love me right and only he could make me happy." She snapped out of her daze, leaning back into his shoulder to look up at him. "He was wrong, wasn't he?" Her eyes begged for him to tell her the truth.

"He couldn't have been more wrong if his life depended on it," Morgan looked her straight in the eye, "I meant every word I ever said to you. Baby, don't let him make you doubt me, please." Tenderly, he caressed her cheek, careful with his touch as not to startle her. "Shouldn't you get some more rest?"

"I'm scared, Derek, I'm so scared. In my dreams, he's doing it over and over again and I can't run away from him, I'm just as incapable as I was in reality." she sobbed. "When I close my eyes, I see him grinning at me. I see him holding that gun aimed at me, ..."

_Kevin was pacing the bedroom, dictating what Penelope had to write, hesitating, reformulating, his voice hoarse from yelling. He was keeping a close eye on her, so she wouldn't try and connect to the internet to send someone an IM or another message, despite having destroyed her modem. When his phone started ringing he cursed, looked at Caller ID and cursed some more before picking up. _

"_Lynch" He listened, his face a study in shades of anger, his cheeks blood red. Pen cowered a little, knowing he would probably work it out on her, whatever was happening. But while his attention was directed at his phone, she quickly started typing another message as fast as she could. _

"_He what? I told you to keep him away! You said you had it handled!" Lynch snapped, looking at Penelope who immediately stopped typing. _

"_That's what I'm going to do! He'll never find me. I'll be in touch!" he snapped the phone shut, walking over to Penelope with a usb connector. _

"_Here, let it connect to the net and send the message!" he instructed her. He kept the gun aimed at her head, watching her every move. She thanked her lucky stars she had had the time to at least encrypt her little message before he came over, even though it wasn't complete she hoped her team would understand. She'd have tried to send out mails but Lynch without a connection _

"_You're coming with me now," he jerked her arms, pulling her to her feet, wrapping his arm around her waist to hold her close, his gun still aimed at her. "Don't even try to do anything funny. If we see anyone, we're going to look like an ordinary couple, madly in love, got it?" he threatened. _

_She looked around frightened, wondering if she should take anything, but he laughed. _

"_You won't need anything at all from your old life anymore. This is it Penny, we are starting over. I have everything you'll need in my house. And your wedding dress. We are going to get married right away and we'll live happily ever after, won't we, Penny dear?_

_He dragged her to his car, she saw her neighbour but she didn't dare yelling anything, not with the cold metal of his gun pressed into her side. He was pretending to kiss her neck, and a shiver ran down her spine, she was disgusted with his touch but she couldn't get him off her._

_Pushing her in the car, he leaned over, and clicked her seat belt shut. She sniffled, and he hit her. "I never saw you complaining when _Morgan_ did this," he spat out. She tried to see if she could get out of her car and run to her neighbour, but before she could blink Kevin was sitting next to her, tying her hands up. _

"_If you scream, I'm gagging you," he warned her, and drove away. _

_Penelope didn't know how long they had driven in silence, save for a curse here and there when Kevin pulled over into a reserved parking lot, untied her and dragged her out of the car. She had no idea where they were, and didn't dare to ask._

"_Don't try anything funny," he whispered in her ear, pushing her towards the front door of an apartment building. _

"_Kevin, what is all of this?" Penelope asked him, her eyes big, worry overlaying her words. _

"_It's our new home, Penny," he said proudly, motioning for her to go in further. She cringed when she looked at the clothes laid out for her, but she started downright panicking when she noticed the hideous wedding gown._

"_I know I'm not supposed to see you in your dress before the actual wedding, but when have we ever been traditional huh Penny?" he tried to smooth her over. When she didn't react, he hit her across the face, leaving a biting mark on her cheek. She bit back her tears, trying to avoid giving him the satisfaction of seeing her cry. "Get dressed, we are going down to City Hall right away while I arrange a license." _

_Penelope walked over to the dress, desperately trying to grab her own phone. It was the only thing she had been able to carry out of her apartment, because it has been in her pocket and Kevin hadn't thought of searching her. But he was on and about her, telling her to undress while he watched. At the same time, he was looking at his laptop. _

"_Give me your ID," he demanded, but she just shook her head._

"_I don't have it on me," she answered truthfully, it had been in her purse he had thrown aside. _

"_Are you kidding me? Penny, you better not be kidding me!" he yelled, stepping closer to her. "We don't have the time to go and pick it up, why are you making things so difficult?"He slapped her again, smiling as he watched the tears spring in her eyes. Then his eyes hardened, and his hands went to her dress, gun still held, caressing the fabric before roughly tugging at it until it ripped and came undone. _

"_You may perhaps think you're clever, but even if we can't have our wedding right now, I can surely enjoy my wedding night, right Penny?" he groaned, and pushed her back on the couch while she screamed. He grinned while he tugged off her panties, and forced himself upon her._

Sniffling, she took a deep breath and gathered all her courage to continue.

"He kept saying," she swallowed the lump in her throat away, "_you know you like it, Penny, I saw you pretending with him, but I'm the only one who knows what is good for you, right Penny?_ And I didn't know what he meant by _I saw you pretending_ but I figured it out when you talked about the cameras." She was shivering again now.

"And then I passed out, and I woke up it was late morning, and he got another phone call, and he was _so angry_, he hit me, over and over, and kicked me. Yelled at me that this wasn't possibly happening, that we were going to be happy together no matter what and the BAU wasn't going to stop him, that that problem would be taken care off and I wouldn't ever see any of you again. That's when he threw me in the car, gagged and blindfolded, and I passed out again, and the next thing I know I'm locked into that room, and he tied me up and cut me so I wouldn't say anything, and next thing I know you guys come bursting through the door."

"Oh baby," was all Morgan could say, as he held her so close she could almost not breathe, but she didn't mind one bit because she finally felt safe in his arms.

XxXxXxX

Hotch was surprised to see Morgan slipping out of his room in the morning, despite his instructions not to. The dark skinned man looked exhausted, purple bags under his eyes, two days worth of stubble on his cheeks.

"Morgan, I told you to..." he started, but swallowed his words when he saw the haunted expression in Derek's eyes.

"I couldn't sleep anymore," the younger man started, "I finally got her to rest again. She woke up from a nightmare and she told me what he did to her." He paused, looking Hotch straight in the eyes. "I want to make him pay for it. One way or another,..."

Hotch simply nodded. He knew he'd have to keep Morgan from doing anything that would backfire at him, but he would do anything in his power to assist him otherwise.

XxXxXxX

The team, minus Penelope who was finally soundly sleeping, sat around the table in the living room again, awaiting news from Torres and his dealings with IA. They were tired, but determined to solve their case, present their evidence to IA and to the higher ups in the bureau, and bring Penelope back home to them.

Reid was leaning back in his chair, a large stack of paper he was methodically reading through in his lap. Prentiss and JJ were trying to further Pen's searches on the laptop, while Hotch, Morgan and Rossi were building the case for IA.

"I got something," Reid suddenly exclaimed, sitting up straight again, bent over three different sheets. The others gathered around him, leaning in to read along as he pointed out different parts of text.

"See, in her mails Strauss is referencing a case she will take good care of. All of these mails are directed to one person, a certain William Kelly, except for one, which is directed at Lynch. She is saying she will personally close it, so Mr. Kelly's position will not be in jeopardy."

"So we have our reason why she didn't want Garcia to monitor the network?" Prentiss asked, an eyebrow lifted, "Seems like an awful lot of trouble just for one case."

"There's more," Spencer continued, pulling out more sheets. "In her mails to Kevin, she is offering him Garcia's job, if he will not track the files, unlike what she has been doing. Seems like Strauss has been deliberately boycotting investigations, curtailing other cases. Big risks that could hurt he career, if anyone found out."

"But why risk everything by talking about it so openly in emails?" Rossi pondered, he was not a fan of technology alltogether but this did not make a lot of sense.

"The emails were encrypted, and sent via a private network Kevin had set up for them," Pen answered as she came out of her room, clutching her side. Morgan rushed towards her, helping her stand. The bruises were really showing now, and he knew she was only just starting to feel the brunt of the pain.

"Baby girl, you should be sleeping still," he worried about her.

"Can't..." her throat was dry, and she swallowed hard. "Need some painkillers, and I'm good to go."

Morgan rushed around, getting her pills with a large glass of water before settling her on the couch again, after she refused to go back to bed.

"Strauss wants Garcia off the network, so she can continue to manipulate investigations. Lynch wants Garcia back, and wants her job plus, why not, part of Strauss's profit, so when she tests the waters with him, they find a common understanding," Hotch sums up. "Lynch had already been spying on Garcia since the beginning of their relationship anyway, so working up their plan was certainly not too difficult."

They were interrupted by a loud knocking on the door. Carefully opening it after checking through the peep, JJ let Torres in, who had an apologetic look on his face when he turned around to introduce the three men with him.

"Agent Hotchner, these are Agents Summers, Henley and Smith from Internal Affairs. I'm sorry," he said before turning around and introducing the rest of the team.

**Next up: Does IA believe them? What is Alicia's real role in all this, since she was in on it from the beginning? Confrontation with Strauss, finally! **


	14. puzzling the pieces together

**A/N: And here we are again for a new instalment! Sorry, I know I promised Strauss, but I had to tie up my loose ends first, and explain how everyone got in on it, so you only get a glimpse of her yet ;) So you get an explanation of who did what, why, where and when, so that we can go on to the action! **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing :( **

As the three agents made their way into the room, Derek instinctively moved up towards Penelope on the couch, holding her hand to reassure her. He knew nobody on the team would back down anymore, but he also needed to make sure she would believe that before she broke down.

"I see you are not even trying to deny your relationship," Henley spoke first, he was the tallest of the three, wearing a well-fitted suit, and obviously the leader, "well that makes our work easier. Wish all agents were cooperative like you." He took a chair, put it in front of Derek and Penelope, ignoring the rest of the team while his two colleagues took them apart, Summers leading Hotch, Reid and JJ to the corner while a sweating, clearly nervous Smith got ready to interrogate Rossi and Prentiss.

Garcia, her eyes wide, pushed herself as far back in the couch as she could, as if she was hoping she would disappear in it. In response, Morgan grabbed her hand tighter, determined not to let anyone bully her into anything, but he didn't need to worry.

"No, you are going to listen to me," Hotch yelled at Summers, striding past the small, brown-haired man until he was looming over a sitting Henley, about to start an interrogation on Morgan and Garcia.

"And you, leave her alone. Either you listen to the real case here, or you get out." Save for The Reaper and Cyrus's sect, they had never seen Hotch so angry, especially since they knew he was playing his career. Strauss was one thing, Internal Affairs was another.

Henley got up from his chair, facing Hotch down.

"And what might the real case be, Agent Hotchner? Those two breaking fraternization rules, which could have been overlooked hadn't they chosen to christen the entire BAU with their antics, and even worse, breaking security rules?" He waited for Hotch to answer, but the unit chief just glared, waiting for the other man to finish. "Or are you talking about your unit's constant insubordination, culminating in the unauthorized flight to California for a supposed case only you know exist?" He paused again, looking around him. "This is supposed to be the FBI's elite team, yet you compromised an investigation in Maine with rash behaviour," he glared at Morgan, "And there's a security breach in the network bigger than my first home," he barked at Garcia. "How do you explain that?"

"Sit down and shut up," Hotch pushed him back down, "And now you listen." Torres moved from his spot next to the door to stand next to Aaron, while the rest of the BAU gathered around them.

XxXxXxX

An hour, three diagrams, two forays into Strauss's email account and three litres of coffee later Aaron Hotchner was calling Henley "Martin" and they were working on an angle of attack against Strauss. Penelope and Agent Summers were once more fixated on the computer screen, exploring Kevin's computer remotely.

"Bingo!" she shouted, and was met with an appreciative nod from Summers who gave her a soft squeeze on the arm. "You're good!" he exclaimed with a warm smile. "That's why they keep me," she quipped, typing a few more commands before turning the computer to the others. "The manipulated pictures. He had them stored on his hard drive."

"Right. We have sufficient proof against both of them," Hotch said, "but I'd like to have even more. We need to make sure Strauss has no opportunity whatsoever to make anyone doubt she was in on this."

He looked at a visibly tired Garcia, who was now resting her head on Derek's arm wrapped around her.

"You, download all of the files, and then go into that bedroom and sleep. I don't want to see you again before we leave for Quantico, because you need to be there to confront Strauss. Understood?"

She was shaking her head, panic evident in her eyes, but Morgan wrapped his arms tighter around her while Hotch crouched besides the couch, his eyes fixed on her.

"Penelope, you can do this. You have to do this if you want to put an end to this, only you can do it," he encouraged her, but Pen cowered, causing Morgan to snap.

"Hotch, back off. Your insistence she needed to go along with Strauss was what got us here in the first place, so leave her be this time," he accused his unit chief. As soon as the words left his mouth he knew he was being unfair, but everything Penelope had told him just hours earlier kept playing through his head and he needed to lash out at someone.

Hotch looked like someone had slapped him in the face, he bowed his head briefly in contemplation before raising his gaze to look Morgan straight into the eyes. "Morgan, you know..." he started but he was interrupted by Penelope's hand on his arm.

"Cupcake, you're being unfair. You know boss man didn't want this to happen, and none of us knew what they were capable of. I'll do it. Whatever it is, I'll do it sir," she cocked her head to one side with a small smile on her lips. Morgan stood up, running his hand over the back of his head before resting his face in both hands briefly.

"Hotch, I...I," he started but the older man interrupted him simply with a hand gesture. "It's okay, Morgan. Let's get back to the case now."

XxXxXxX

"Okay, we go over it one more time," Hotch rounded them up around the table, Torres and the agents from IA joined them.

"Kevin starts dating Penelope, but with help of his friend Alicia he installs spy cameras all over her apartment, and obsessively logs hours and hours of pictures and videos on his computer, and probably elsewhere," Reid started from the very beginning.

"What bothers me is _why_ he did that, and why his friend went along with it. I mean, don't get me wrong, you are all my friends, but if you asked me to do that, I would say no and probably report you," Prentiss looked around the room, raising a valid point, "and it's one thing to be jealous, but this was stalking."

"Prentiss is right," Hotch pondered, "what are we missing?"

"What is the earliest email between Strauss and Kevin, and between Alicia and Kevin?" Rossi asked, searching through the stack of printed paper.

"Do you know this Alicia's last name?" Henley suddenly asked, his face crisped, as if he was trying very hard to remember something.

"All emails are sent from Alicia C., she is posted in counter-terrorism," Reid answered, knowing most of the mails by heart. He thought back to the first one they had found. He stood up, pacing in front of the blackboard JJ installed.

"Of course! How could we have overlooked that!" he exclaimed, still focussed on the images in his head.

"Reid! Spill, man," Morgan shook him a little, impatiently.

Reid took the printout of the first mail between Strauss and Kevin, and started circling words.

"See, she calls him Kevin, not 'T.A. Lynch', not even 'Lynch' or 'dear'. She also commends him on his excellent work, as always. The tone of her mail doesn't suggest she is asking him to do this for the first time, on the contrary, the use of a first name shows they have a prior relationship established. The email is about a year old, which is well before Strauss decided to take on Morgan and Garcia, and when Lynch was still with Garcia. So his motivation was not to get her back." Reid rattled.

"We had a case on an Alicia Carpenter, about three years ago," Henley suddenly interrupted him, "it involved gross negligence." He tapped his fingers on the table, trying to remember more details.

"Wasn't that the one which got closed before we could figure out who helped her?" Summers asked his partner of almost five years.

"That's the one!" the blond man exclaimed, an almost excited expression on his round face. "And it was Strauss who called us off before we could figure who helped her gain access to sensitive information she had no clearance for. She had been found snooping around before, but there was no hard evidence. We suspected her of selling it, as she had lots of debt and a luxurious lifestyle she couldn't afford after mom and dad cut her loose."

"The debt Kevin alludes to in his emails," Prentiss added. "She was probably looking for information to sell, to cover her debt, helped by Kevin, probably, since you," she looked at Henley, "you were saying that someone was helping her. What is _his_ motivation?"

"Easy money," Morgan piped up. "They were old friends, right? What if she gave him a share?"

"He could certainly use it," JJ paced the room, "I... I asked around after she first got with him, because you know, it was so soon after Battle... and I was worried." She stopped, her brow knitted. "So I looked into his files, he barely held a job before joining the FBI thanks to some hacking exploits, nothing like Pen but still pretty impressive, and was living with his parents. Within weeks of his joining, he moved into a big apartment and bought a car. I just figured he got a good salary."

"So Alicia, who is a clerk at counter-terrorism, finds a way to obtain sensitive information, helped by her old friend Kevin Lynch, who is just as desperate for money like she is. Given his behaviour, we can also safely assume he doesn't care how he gets it, as long as he gets what he wants. Mixed with a psychopathic personality, the description fits him quite well." Rossi states, "but what about Strauss?"

"She finds them out, and has them work for her instead of reprimanding them. She has a stick to beat them with, and they do what she can't do herself: traffic the cases." Morgan tapped his pencil on the table, then pointing it at Rossi. "You knew her before, does that sound like her?"

"Absolutely," the senior profiler almost smirked. He wouldn't admit it, but he did have some fond memories of her. He hadn't liked her insane ambition and willingness to crush everything and everyone standing in the way of her goal, but she had her moments of doubt and vulnerability which made her so human in his eyes. The nights she came to find him, so insecure, and he held her before making love to her… He shook his head, knowing the woman they were up against now had long since shaken that side of her.

"Why Pen?" Hotch then asked, trying to fit the last piece of the puzzle, "And why Morgan?"

"She was just shot when they met …" Prentiss's voice trailed off, she was trying to order her thoughts, "did anyone else find that was quick? What if Kevin didn't meet her by chance?"

"What do you mean, Prentiss, you saying they were set up?" Morgan asked, full of disbelief. He was kicking himself even more now for not following through on his "I love you" when he was protecting her from Battle in her apartment. He thought she needed time, until she hurried into Lynch's arms just a mere few weeks later. Probably because she needed someone to hold her, and he was trying not to push her. Damn. What an idiot had he been. He shook his head, resting it in his palms. "I'm such an idiot," he muttered through his fingers.

"That you are," Prentiss smirked, before turning her attention back to the round table. "Battle went after her for flagging three cases he was involved in. Strauss sends Lynch to keep an eye on her, which he takes a little too literally, but that was probably his way of getting a little extra out of it."

Nobody had noticed Pen coming out of the room, hearing the last of the discussion. Tears were running down her cheeks when she spoke, so softly they barely heard, "You mean all the time he pretended?"

In no time, Morgan was on his feet, wrapping his arms around her, holding her tight against his chest.

XxXxX

"Baby girl, you don't have to do this, you know that right?" Derek was softly rubbing her arms while she was lying against him on the bed.

The rest of the team was packing up, preparing to return to Quantico. Torres had left with the three agents from Internal Affairs, who were waiting going to join them there to confront Strauss and hopefully get a confession out of her. Penelope had spent the rest of the morning searching through Strauss's and Kevin's emails, finding out more details of their involvement. When she had been able to access older, deleted mails from other accounts, she held indubitable proof that Strauss had sent Kevin to her so he would keep her from monitoring the cases the section chief was corrupting. When she also found Kevin and Alicia's love letters, some dating from just two weeks ago, she realised the extent of the treachery.

When she read Kevin's heartbroken words after he found out Alicia cheated on him with Morgan when she just joined the bureau, she found it particularly ironic how jealous he had acted about her relationship with her best friend. How he was controlling and envious, yet he was leading a double life himself.

She had needed a few moments to herself, to digest the biggest lie of her life. She couldn't completely encompass it, it sounded like a plot from some sort of Russian spy novel, but the reality was a lot less romantic.

"I have to, handsome," she caressed his cheek, looking deep into his nearly onyx eyes she so loved to lose herself in, "I want to make her pay for everything she did. For three years I lived a lie, because I believed it was the best I could do, because they made me believe it was the best I could do. Only to end up kidnapped, beaten and raped. I can't risk the slightest chance she goes unpunished for what she did to me, to you, to our whole team and not to mention the cases she manipulated."

"You know I'll be right there, no matter what? You know I love you, beyond words?" Derek leaned down, his voice hoarse, resting his lips on her cheek before softly pecking her lips. He was afraid she would retract, but when she snaked her arm around him, resting her hand on the back of his head to pull him closer to her, he allowed himself to kiss her in earnest.

"In a way, I should be thankful," she whispered, "because if one thing, they made me realise you are the love of my life."

XxXxX

Garcia had never been so nervous in her life. She was usually so bubbly and self-assured, despite her sometimes insecure nature, and faced every task, no matter how difficult, heads on. But now she was about to enter Strauss's office, to confront the woman who had tried to destroy her and the man she loved.

She knew she had to play her part well, trying to get her section chief to confess so it would be recorded. She wouldn't be alone, Morgan would be right there with her. He was going in first, and Pen would join him just a minute later.

"You can do it, baby girl, in fact, you are going to be fantastic," Morgan squeezed her hand lightly, giving her a quick kiss on her forehead before turning around and pushing the door to Strauss's office.

"Chief Strauss, can I have a minute," he shot her a 100-watt smile. It didn't reach his eyes, but it was convincing enough.

"Agent Morgan," she smiled back at him, her eyes narrowing, taking him in from head to toe. "Have you come to your senses to take up my offer?"

She stood up, walked around her desk, and made no secrets about her intentions when she almost moulded herself to into him, grabbing his ass to pull him closer.

"Well it has slightly changed, of course," she licked her lips while Morgan stared at her, impassively. "We have a little fun, and you keep your job."

"Can I have some fun too?" a furious Penelope opened the door in her turn, having heard everything that went on in the office, her nervousness now replaced by anger.

**A/N. Yes, finally, we have Strauss. More next chapter!**


	15. why hello there!

**A/N: alright, and we're back! **

**This is especially for ReadYourThoughts, who is keeping Morgan hostage until I deliver this chapter, and for BonesBird, who refuses to update her excellent fic "Alphabet" until she gets a HEA. I'm under pressure, you can tell. **

**It's a bit much longer, but I figured I would get you through to the end ;) **

**Also, sorry for typos and what have you. None of my stuff is beta'd, or even proofread, I usually write in one go and by then it's 7 AM and I need sleep ;) **

**Disclaimer: the characters don't belong to me but to CBS. I would like for them to have some of the plotlines in this fic too, but alas. **

"Penelope, stay calm. Remember why you're there," she heard Hotch's voice in her earpiece, calming her down sufficiently so she could regain her composure. Everything about Strauss made her so mad, the tone she had used, the way she had grabbed Derek made Penelope's blood boil, but she needed to remain collected so Strauss would hopefully be history really soon.

She straightened her shoulders, took a deep breath and approached her section chief, who had still not let go of Morgan, but instead had brought her hands around and was now straightening out his collar.

"TA Garcia, I didn't expect to see you back here so soon," a confident Strauss half-smiled at her.

"Ma'am," she nodded curtly at the older woman, even though, for the first time in her life, Penelope felt like strangling someone.

=~==A Sorta Fairytale==~=

"We found Alicia Carpenter at her desk, she has been brought up discreetly for questioning," Prentiss hurried towards Hotch who was intently looking at the live videofeed showing him what was going on in Strauss's office.

"Alright, you and Rossi go interrogate her," Hotch answered, his eyes never leaving the screen. He had his arms folded in front of him, his lips growing thinner with every move of Strauss he witnessed.

"Hotch, I should go in and I might be able to help Morgan and Garcia to get Strauss to talking," Rossi objected, but Hotch just shook his head.

"I don't want her to drag up your common past on camera," he simply stated. "I don't want anyone, especially not an influencable member of a jury or a disciplinary committee thinking that we had personal reasons to go after Strauss, and by association, after Lynch and Carpenter."

Rossi just nodded and took off with Prentiss, leaving Reid and JJ with Hotch.

"JJ, go check with IA how the recording is going and what more do they need," the older man asked his media liaison.

"Reid, set up a connection with the interrogation rooms. We might have to play them out against each other." he concluded, then continued monitoring the confrontation.

=~==A Sorta Fairytale==~=

"You look a little ... _rough,_ Garcia, is everything in order with your new assignment?" the older woman continued to smirk, her head slightly tilted, a hint of fake compassion in her voice. She pretended to be done with Morgan's collar, and flattened her palms on his chest. "But as much as I would like to catch up with you, I have more urgent matters to attend to."

Morgan, who had enough of her attitude by now, grabbed her wrists and lowered her hands, his voice calm but full of authority.

"Chief Strauss, keep your hands off me and sit down. We need to talk."

=~==A Sorta Fairytale==~=

"Alicia Carpenter," Prentiss simply stated, looking over the file she was holding in her left hand. "Daughter of John and Sophia Carpenter, owners of a very successful jewelery chain. How did it feel when you realised they weren't going to pay for your exuberant lifestyle?" She took in the petite brunette sitting in front of her, dressed impeccably in a fitted skirt suit, obviously tailored for her. Clothes worth probably more than a clerk's salary.

"I don't need my parents to take care of me," she answered defiantly. "I'm a big girl."

"Is that what you told your clients?" Rossi walked up to the table, resting his fingertips on it, showing off his large golden seal ring, a sign of richness he knew she would recognize and appreciate. Alicia looked at it a moment, then her eyes snapped up to look at his face, studying him. Rossi knew she was debating whether she could trust him because they came from the same wealth or if she would figure there was no way she could buy him because he didn't need it.

"What cliënts?" she played dumb.

"Maybe it was your ex-boyfriend Kevin handling them?" Prentiss brought up, trying to antagonize her.

"Kevin, my ex-boyfriend? You certainly mean Kevin, my fiancé," Alicia informed the profilers, rather snottily.

=~==A Sorta Fairytale==~=

Strauss sat down behind her desk, tapping her fingertips together, looking from Morgan to Garcia, trying to regain the upper level.

"Very well," she paused, scrutinizing Garcia. She knew trying to impress Morgan wouldn't work, but she hoped that Garcia would be less confident. Especially given what she had been through. Strauss had been informed about the events at the house in LA, since Kevin had recovered his speech, at least partially. Now that he was a little more awake he was able to communicate and Strauss had had no qualms about exhausting him to find out exactly what had gone wrong with his foolproof plan.

"Chief Strauss," Morgan still addressed her as politely as he could muster, he couldn't jeopardize getting a confession out of her, but it was taking everything out of him. He would have arrested her on the spot but he had to agree with Hotch that she would have probably invoked her constitutional right to silence, gotten the best lawyer in the country and walked free. They needed her to acknowledge what she did, and they would have to drag it out of her.

"Chief Strauss," he started again after a deep breath, "First of all, Penelope has been transferred back here, orders from the director directly. You cannot send her away again."

Strauss, bereaved of the stick she was about to pull from behind the door, admitted the failure of her plan with a slight nod, her lips pursed.

'Fine," she sneered slightly at Penelope, "_Welcome back,_ Miss Garcia."

"Second, Ma'am, I would like you to read some of these email print-outs," Morgan continued, handing her a stack of papers. She took them, her eyebrows slightly raised. She put her reading glasses on her nose, pushing them back before she started reading. Immediately, her head shot up again, and she looked Morgan straight in the eyes, her fury barely disguised.

"Agent Morgan, what is this supposed to mean? Is this some kind of joke?" She collected herself, her tone menacing, but calm. No doubt she was a dangerous adversary.

"It's no joke at all, Ma'am," Penelope spoke up, "These are your emails, pulled from your account."

"Which is," Strauss cocked her head to the side, staring intently at Penelope, "_in the event these emails would be real_, an illegal activity when done without my permission. I do not have to tell you what the consequences of such acts are, do I?" She smiled, shifting the blame around to her accusers.

=~==A Sorta Fairytale==~=

"She is doing exactly as we suspected she would," Reid observed Strauss on the monitor fed by the minuscule camera Penelope was wearing in an intricate flower on her chest. "Shifting the blame away. Interesting."

"Why?" Hotch stood next to him, he hadn't taken his eyes off the feed even one second. Reid wasn't sure he had blinked even once.

"She knows absolutely nothing about profiling, about interrogation techniques or even how you negotiate tactically. She has zero field knowledge, but these are like the basics. Yet she is and remains our section chief."

"Politics..." Hotch sighed.

"I wonder who holds a hand above her head," Reid added. "It could give us an extra weapon."

"Find out who does, and then come back here." Hotch simply instructed, before shifting his attention to Penelope who was losing her patience again when confronted with her hacker past.

"Penelope, you had express permission to monitor the bureau computers. She is bluffing. The director _and _Internal Affairs specifically condoned your actions."

=~==A Sorta Fairytale==~=

"Your fiancé, you say?" Prentiss raised her eyebrows, her hands flat on the table as she pushed herself up to a standing position.

"Tell me, Alicia, why was your fiancé in California last week, trying to _convince_ another woman to marry him?" Rossi interjected, sarcasm barely concealed.

"He was in California for an assignment," she shot back, too quickly almost, telling Rossi and Prentiss that this was a sensitive point for her. A quick glance between them told them they were going to exploit this.

"Save that crap for someone else, Alicia," Rossi got personal now, "Kevin Lynch is currently laying in an LA hospital, paraplegic after receiving a bullet in his head. And do you want to know how that bullet got there?"

Alicia's eyes grew wide, they could clearly see her calculating. Her body language betrayed this was the first thing she heard about it.

"You are lying," she used the first line she could think of. It worked on TV, sometimes, right?

"Alicia, Kevin Lynch was shot by a BAU agent when he was threatening Penelope Garcia's life. He had previously kidnapped her, raped her and was going to force her to marry him," Prentiss informed the nervous girl, her tone almost soft. Somewhere deep inside she felt a pang of compassion, in a way Alicia turned out to be a victim too. Both agents waited a minute to let the news sink in, slowly maneuvering her where they wanted her to be.

"So, is Kevin really your fiancé?" Prentiss inquired, reaching across the table to slightly pat Alicia's arm.

"That bitch! It was her who should have been shot! He wasn't supposed to fall in love with her!" Alicia cried out, jumping up from her chair, turning around, away from the profilers, and burst out in tears.

Prentiss went over to her, putting her arm over the sobbing woman's shoulder in a comforting gesture.

"Alicia, so far you are not being accused of accessory to rape and murder attempt, you will have to answer for your all the information you sold, _don't_ make your case any worse," Rossi used his fatherly tone, trying to coax a confession out of her just as much as threatening her.

"Okay," she simply nodded, defeated.

Prentiss sat her back down at the table, and pushed a notepad towards her.

"We are going to talk, you are going to tell me what Strauss and Lynch's roles were in all this, and then I want you to write down every single person you sold information to." Rossi walked towards the door, whispering something to the agent guarding it.

=~==A Sorta Fairytale==~=

"Sir, Agent Rossi has asked me to inform you that Alicia Carpenter confessed, "they are currently working on her statement." the officer informed Hotch and JJ who had returned from the recording room.

"Thank you," Hotch dismissed the man, before calling him back.

"Officer? Ask him to give me the details as soon as possible."

=~==A Sorta Fairytale==~=

"With all due respect, Chief Strauss, I work here because I have exactly the skills to find out what you and Kevin Lynch thought would be undetectable. I know you feared I would find you out, and that is what made you try and send me away." Penelope defended herself with vigor, still disgusted by Strauss's absolute lack of compassion.

"With all due _respect,_" Strauss retorted, not taking her eyes away from Garcia like a cat eying her prey, "Whatever you have found out, it is obviously forged evidence made up to get back at the person you consider responsible for breaking up your little love affair." She waved her hand between Derek and Penelope, ready to dismiss them. "Will that be all?"

"Not so fast, Strauss," Derek took over, no longer caring about proper protocol, "These searches were conducted in presence of three agents from Internal Affairs, who verified the authenticity of the material."

Strauss sat back in her large desk chair, turning it sideways so she was no longer facing the couple in front of her, trying to gain as much time as possible. The news had come as a surprise, as five minutes earlier she had still thought the agents she sent were investigating the BAU team.

=~==A Sorta Fairytale==~=

"Morgan, Alicia Carpenter confessed, we have her testimony on film," Hotch spoke into the microphone. "She claims Strauss caught her and Lynch selling confidential information because the source got back to her. They have been helping her ever since and in turn she closes her eyes when they make a sale."

JJ was going through the written statement to highlight the points they could use to get her confession.

"She also claims that she didn't know about Lynch and Strauss's plan to eliminate Pen by transferring her to LA. Kevin started excluding her when he started making plans for a future with Penelope and not with Alicia," Hotch continued, resuming what JJ pointed out.

He was interrupted by Reid, who came running, almost out of breath.

"The person responsible for her appointment as section chief," he panted, "is Senator Wakemill, coincidentally also the person Strauss is falsifying cases for."

"William Kelly?" Hotch asked, an eyebrow lifted.

"A perfect anagram for Lily Wakemill. A perfect decoy, as a name like William Kelly is very generic and anyone discovering the traffic would automatically search for a man, not a woman." Reid concluded.

"We need to raise the pressure on Strauss, dropping Wakemill's name is going to give us the edge we need," Rossi assessed, as he was just walking up with Prentiss and had heart Reid's explanation.

"Morgan, Garcia, I am coming in," Hotch barked.

=~==A Sorta Fairytale==~=

Hotch burst into the room, not bothering to knock or close the door behind him, he walked straight up to Strauss and leaned in over her desk.

"Lily Wakemill," was all he said when he watched the blood disappear from her face. "She is the one you are protecting, why? Simple loyalty, gratitude because she answered your unlimited ambition? Is she the one lobbying for your next promotion?" he asked her in a flat, yet menacing tone.

"Agent Hotchner, I have no idea what you are talking about, nor what your agents are talking about," she bit, visibly unnerved.

"It's over, Chief Strauss, he calmly answered, glaring right at her, "We have your emails, a team is on its way to arrest Senator Wakemill, all the flagged cases are being investigated by Internal Affairs, Alicia Carpenter confessed, you have no way out."

Strauss's face decomposed itself, she opened her mouth trying to find a fitting retort but no sound was coming out. She simply stared back at Hotch, then looked at Garcia with a expression of hatred on her face.

Neither Hotch nor Morgan anticipated Strauss reaching for a concealed handgun as a last desperate measure, nor did they expect her to aim it at Penelope. Both men pulled their guns in a fraction of a second, trying to keep her from moving around the desk and getting closer to a frightened Pen who closed her eyes. Slowly, Morgan stood up and made his way over to her.

"Agent Morgan, if you want to see your girlfriend alive, I suggest you stay where you are," Strauss had found the edge to her voice again, now that she was in relative control.

"Erin, don't do this," Rossi's voice came from the doorway, where he was standing with Prentiss, Reid and JJ, all four having drawn their weapons too.

"Not again," JJ muttered, taking her aim.

Strauss, unimpressed, came to stand next to Penelope. "_David_, I think I am old enough to decide what to do, am I not?" she almost smiled but her eyes were still shooting daggers. "Now, I want you all to step..." Focusing on the profilers in the doorway, Strauss hadn't expected Penelope to actually resist her when she slipped an arm around her neck to guide her outside as a shield. An obviously very fed up Garcia grabbed the arm with which she was holding the gun, twisting her wrist until she had to let go, and then pulled Strauss to the ground, where she was arrested within seconds by Hotch, while Morgan wrapped a crying Penelope in his arms.

"I've had it with people aiming their guns at me, Handsome," she sniffed.

"It's all over now, sweetheart, it's all over," he soothed her while Henley, Summers and Smith came in to lead Strauss away.

"Erin Strauss, you are being arrested for assault on federal agents, a murder attempt on a federal agent, accessory to kidnapping and assault on a federal agent, corruption, conspiracy against the US government, obstruction of justice, fraud, forgery and use of forged documents, and gross misconduct. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law -" Henley started reading her her rights.

"Anyone want to tell her anything, now's the time because she is not getting out anytime soon!" Summers quipped.

"Actually, I do have something to say," Garcia detached herself from Morgan's arms, and stepped forward, standing right in front of Strauss she looked her straight in the eyes, then smiled.

"I win." she simply said, and her team cheered.

=~==A Sorta Fairytale==~=

The team gathered in the bullpen, where several other agents joined them, curious about what had happened to Strauss and how this would affect the different teams. JJ did her best not to give out too much information, but the section chief being led away in handcuffs of course gave a lot of room to rumors.

Prentiss and Reid were sitting at their desks, with Rossi leaning against Prentiss's and Hotch sitting on Reid's.

They were all waiting on JJ to finish her explanations, when Rossi motioned Hotch to look at Morgan's desk with a small nod of his head.

Garcia was sitting on his desk, Morgan wrapped around her, his hands cupping her face and kissing her softly, almost reverently. He still didn't dare to be too forceful, but her arms tight around him encouraged him, not caring about where they were or who was around them.

"Oh dear, I hope nobody took pictures, I could really use a vacation now!" Prentiss exclaimed almost desperately, making everyone laugh. Morgan let go of Garcia's lips, but kept his arms around her.

"It's okay, Prentiss, one day you'll find someone you can't resist either," he quipped, earning a groan from Emily.

JJ, who was done with her spontaneous briefing, hoping she had satisfied the curiosity of the other agents enough to have the weekend off at least, turned around with a large smile on her face.

"Anyone up for dinner? I have reservations at eight," she announced enthusiastically.

"Dinner, then bar," Prentiss added, "I can use some relaxation."

"Baby girl are you up to this?" Morgan whispered in her ear, his voice full of concern.

"Sweetheart, yes I am. You were right, it's over now. I, _we_ won. And the sooner we realise that, the better." she smiled so sweetly at him, his arguments were automatically overruled.

"You are one of a kind," he smiled back at her, guiding her to the rest of the team in the elevator.

**A/N: Yikes! There we go, so, what next? **


	16. Healing

**A/N: Almost there! Sorry it's a day late, but I sort of felt unwell and fell asleep before writing yesterday! So here it is, today. Almost done, just one more chapter after this one, I think :) I hope you enjoy(ed) the ride! **

**Disclaimer: none of it belongs to me. **

The bar was packed, it was Friday night and they had taken their time to enjoy their meals. They were slowly starting to realise it was over, that Strauss had been taken into custody, that Lynch was going to be spending the rest of his days locked away chained to a bed. Morgan was keeping Pen close to him, not only because he constantly needed to reassure himself she was really back in his arms, but also because he was waiting for the after-effects to set in. His many years of experience with victims were that one point or another they needed to break down before they could go on and process everything that happened. He just wanted to be there when that happened.

He watched her as she took a seat at the table they managed to snatch up just as another group was leaving, and was about to go stand behind her, when Hotch grabbed his arm.

"Morgan, let her breathe," the older man advised him in a fatherly tone.

"Hotch, I just..." he shrugged.

"I know, Morgan. And I won't keep you from doing that. Just … remember you can't put her in a glass bubble." Hotch spoke with knowledge of cause, patted Morgan's arm, making him wince.

"Sorry, it's still a little sore," Derek apologized, "Adrenalin rush is gone." Hotch nodded before taking a seat.

Emily and Reid went over to the bar to order their drinks, and soon everyone was chatting away, about everything but work. Penelope was enjoying herself, her mind distracted from the soreness of her body, and worry about Derek. He had been her hero the past three days, despite being injured himself, and hadn't once shown he was in pain. Now though, he was clearly just holding on for her.

"To Morgan and Garcia, and their future wedding," JJ toasted, holding her beer high.

"To Morgan and Garcia," the others joined in, making a broadly smiling Morgan hold Garcia a little tighter, which in turn caused him to groan because his arm and leg were suddenly on fire again. He hadn't felt much pain, so he clearly overexerted himself, and it was showing now.

"You two get some rest, you look like death warmed over," Rossi quipped, "And I do mean _rest."_

"Good idea, Baby Girl, are you ready to go?" Morgan asked his fiancee.

"Sure, Handsome, just going to the loo first." She stood up, brushing some wrinkles out of her clothes.

"I'll go with you," Emily quickly said, followed by JJ.

"Oh great, now I'll never get home with you," Morgan mock-complained to Pen, but she laughed back at him. "It's okay girls, I'm big enough to go on my own," she winked and made her way to the back of the establishment.

All of them kept their eyes on her until they saw her disappear into the bathrooms, and were relieved when she reappeared after a few minutes. Morgan stood up, put on his jacket and took hers when he saw her freeze and her eyes grew big. A man he didn't know – and neither did she from the look on her face – snaked his arm around her shoulder to pull her close and was whispering something in her ear. Morgan could only guess what it was but he didn't need to to know it was one or another pick up line.

In just seconds he was next to Penelope, again forgetting the pain in his arm and leg, followed closely by Hotch. Shoving the man away from her he gathered her in his arms, while Hotch shooed away the surprised man, who quickly backed off and disappeared into the crowd before Morgan could turn his attention back to him.

"Let's get you both home, okay?" Hotch said, concerned about the two members of his team who never looked worse.

He drove both of them to Derek's place, since Pen no longer had her apartment. They'd deal with moving her belongings from California and out of storage as soon as they could, but first they needed rest.

"I don't want to see either of you in the next two weeks, unless there's an emergency," Hotch smiled when he dropped them off. "And do me a favor, _rest_."

=~==A Sorta Fairytale==~=

"I don't know what to do with myself," Penelope finally admitted, tapping her fingers on the bar in Derek's large kitchen. Normally she loved that kitchen for baking, but now she didn't feel like doing anything. She felt so empty, and aimless. She didn't like feeling like this. She made it a point to be surrounded by bright colours and fun objects, to remind her that the sun shines outside and life has its good sides.

Right now it felt like all of that had been ripped away from her, and not even the person she loved more than her own life could fill the hole left in her heart. When she was hurt, she either turned to her hot stuff or buried herself in work in the event he was out on a case and could not be there for her. But now he was hurt alongside her, and he'd been ordered strict rest because he pulled a muscle or two when sprinting over to rescue her from the stranger hitting on her at the bar. She couldn't stand to see him hurt, and she felt guilty because it was all because of her. She had been the one involved with Lynch, so somehow she was responsible for Strauss breaking them up and sending him away to Maine where he got shot and then they had to come rescue her while he wasn't even healed. There was no way she could ever make it up to him.

So she retracted inside herself, shutting herself off from the outside world, afraid to go near him, to touch him, because she didn't want to make him hurt even more, while all she wanted was to rest in his arms, and not realising she was hurting him more by pulling away.

"How about you stop trying to make time go faster, and just come relax here with me," he gently asked her, finally, knowing he would have to take the first step. She reluctantly agreed, and slipped into his embrace on the couch, instantly feeling better. She closed her eyes and shivered a little, overwhelmed with the love radiating from him.

"It's not your fault," he softly spoke into her hear, dropping featherlight kisses on her cheek and temple. When she pressed herself closer to him, relaxing in his arms, he knew she was starting to believe him.

=~==A Sorta Fairytale==~=

Penelope walked into the hospital, hesitantly. She hated hospitals with a passion even when she wasn't the patient, but having to go back for a check-up on her and Morgan's injuries and the mandatory psych eval imposed by the FBI, was weighing heavy on her mind.

"He can't hurt you anymore, and even if he could, I wouldn't let him, baby girl." Derek had his hand on her back, gently pushing her forward. He knew how hard this was for her especially since Hotch had called the day before informing them Lynch's mother had him transferred to Virginia. He would stay at the hospital a little while longer until he would end up in a specialised institution.

She nodded in agreement, but then froze. Walking right up to them was Kevin's mother, obviously furious. Derek instinctively moved himself between her and Penelope, determined not to let the woman have her say.

"I have no idea who you are, Mister," a seething Helen Lynch accused him, "but I want to have a talk with my daughter-in-law!"

Derek felt Penelope freeze behind him, grabbing his hand tighter, and he opened his mouth to tell the old woman off, but she beat him to it.

"Your what?" Pen shrieked, stepping from behind Derek. Helen immediately rushed up to her, grabbing her arms.

"Where have you been, child? We have been sick with worry when Kevin told us they had taken you away at your wedding, and shot him! The police wouldn't listen to us!" she agitatedly interrogated Pen, whose look grew more and more dumbfounded at every word she heard. "And who is this man? Is he one of them? Come on, let me get you to your husband, he will be so glad to see you!"

"Helen, wait," Pen started, but Kevin's mother wouldn't listen to her and started dragging her away. She dug her heels in, pulling her arm out of the crazy woman's grasp. "Helen!" Helen looked at her with big eyes, not understanding what was happening, when Pen walked up to Derek, intertwined her fingers with his and showed her her ring.

"Helen, this Derek, my fiance. Kevin and I were not, nor will we ever be married. He lied to me our entire relationship, he kidnapped me, hit me, raped me. So no, I won't be coming with you. I never want to see him again."

Helen looked like someone had slapped her in the face, opening then closing her mouth like a fish.

"But, but he loves you!" she blurted out, taking a step towards Pen and Derek again.

"I'm sure he does, but I don't love _him_, Helen," Penelope stopped her. "Our whole relationship was a lie, and my love for him was part of that lie."

With those words she left Mrs. Lynch there, her mouth still open, and started towards the reception desk followed by a beaming Morgan.

"I'm so proud of you, sweetheart," he said when he caught up with her, but then noticed she had tears in her eyes. "Baby, are you okay?"

"I meant it what I said there. Maybe he lied to me, but I lied to him too. He was right, it was always and will always be about you." \

"That doesn't give him the right to do what he did to you," Derek soothed her, he hugged her and kissed her forehead. "Come on, let's get you checked out and then we're out of here."

=~==A Sorta Fairytale==~=

"Doctor said my ribs would be sore for a little while, but I've healed completely otherwise," Penelope told Derek as soon as they were sitting in his car.

"That's great sweetheart," he smiled at her, caressing her cheek. "I'll go easy on you for a little while longer," he added with a wink.

"How about you," she asked with worry in her voice. He didn't think she saw him wince every now and then, and even though he had more than convinced her that none of it was her fault, she couldn't help but feeling the tiniest pang of guilt whenever he did. It didn't help that he absolutely refused to really take it easy and tended on her hand and foot.

"It's okay," he shrugged. "Doc got mad at me for moving too much but all in all it has healed well and I can go back on active duty soon." She swore she heard regret in his voice, and she knew he wouldn't want to leave her alone when their two weeks were up, but they both knew they had no choice. It was the nature of the job and neither wanted to change what they were doing, nor did they expect the other to.

"I've been cleared to go back if I want to," Pen hesitated. She knew Derek thought she should take off longer, but talking with the psychologist that afternoon did her a lot of good.

"And you're going to, aren't you?" He didn't really ask, knowing what her answer would be.

"Yes. It won't help me to run into the walls at home when you're not there, and worrying about you I do best when I know what is going on and I can help you," she assured him. "I'm far from over this, but I need some normalcy around me when you are not."

He just nodded, conceding her point. He thought of Hotch's words, that he couldn't put her in a bubble to protect her all the time, and needed to give her some space, and knew this was probably what the other man meant.

=~==A Sorta Fairytale==~=

It was the last day of their two weeks off, and the entire team was sitting in Morgan's living room, drinking beer and sharing popcorn and other snacks on a rare day off. There was a movie playing but nobody was really paying attention to it, instead they were talking, filling Morgan and Garcia in on the latest going on at work.

"They still haven't filled in Strauss's post," JJ remarked, "But I heard they are considering Johnson from the New York office after Hotch turned them down."

"You did huh," Morgan looked at Hotch, surprised. He knew the man had a lot of ambition.

"I don't know what I was thinking," his unit chief shot him a rare smile, "Because I sure could use the more regular hours. But on the other hand, I can't leave you guys unattended just yet, can I?"

They all laughed, kicking back, sharing more gossip.

Pen was laughing, Prentiss was telling her some stupid thing the new tech assigned to the BAU had done.

"I made sure they cleaned up your office before you came back," Emily added, "And God knows we'll be glad you are back!"

"I'll be glad to be back too," Pen answered, suddenly choking up. Morgan immediately hugged her closer to him, rubbing her back.

"Are you sure you're ready?" Hotch asked, his voice full of concern. "If you're not ready, we can arrange for you to.."

"No, no, please, Hotch, I want to be back, I'd go crazy if I was stuck here at home with nobody to talk to but on the phone, worrying about Derek and all of you," Pen interrupted him. "I just … I thought I'd never be back here. When I first went to California, I was afraid they'd keep me there, and then when Kevin... for a moment, I lost hope there," she sniffed.

"Pen, you know we'd never give up on you," JJ soothed her, sitting on her other side.

"I know, of course I kept faith in you all." She smiled at her best friend, and grabbed some more popcorn.

=~==A Sorta Fairytale==~=

The first case when they were back was hard, but fortunately after five days her team walked back in the bullpen. Garcia was sitting on Morgan's desk, unapologetic, not wanting to hide anymore. The minute she saw Morgan walking in, she jumped to her feet and launched herself into his arms.

"I missed you so much," he murmured against her ear, his face pressed in her hair, emotion nearly choking his voice.

"I missed you more," she smiled, happy to have him back with her.

"Nah-uh, not possible woman," he eased back, smiling at her.

"Stop it already!" Prentiss yelled from behind them, making a fake-disgusted face. Reid and Rossi laughed at her.

"Wait until they're married, I hear that's a killer for romanticism," Rossi joked. Morgan and Garcia just laughed.

"Nothing's ever going to stop _those_ two, I'm afraid," Prentiss answered.

"Speaking of which," Morgan whispered to Penelope, "I can't wait to marry you. What are we waiting for?"

"I don't know," she whispered back, her eyes big with surprise.

"In two weeks, we have three days off," he winked. "You think that'll work?"

"We'll make it work," she answered, beaming.

**Next: I'd say the wedding, what you say? **


	17. I am yours, you are mine

**A/N: So sorry this took this long. I just kept writing on it, and it wouldn't just come together so well, plus I was hit with the busy stick at work. I hope this won't disappoint and will be worth the wait. As you suspect, the wedding, and a little epilogue of sorts :) It's really long, more like two chapters wrapped in one, but since you had to wait for so long I decided not to split them and just post it as one final chapter. I hope you enjoy! **

**Warning: smut (and the first I ever wrote, so eermm hopefully is isn't too cringeworthy ;)). So I had to have it reread, at least, to know it wasn't weeping_cock worthy ;) **

**Also, ReadingYourThoughts, they drive up together, **_**just for you**_**. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything. If I did, I wouldn't have been crying my eyes out when watching 'JJ'. **

Penelope stood on the deck of Morgan's – their - beach house, wringing her hands together nervously. She was busy with some last minute preparation, putting some more food out on the tables, checking there was enough ice in the coolers, hanging some more decorations. Everything was ready, but she couldn't help but check on the last items over and over again.

Morgan came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her. Burying his face in her neck, he couldn't help but revel in the sensation of holding her close, but more importantly, in the idea that she wasn't startled by his action. He knew that what had happened with Lynch would leave a scar, but he also trusted the connection and love they shared to help them surmount the damage the other man had done. He himself had been surprised by the patience he was capable of, given his normally hot-tempered nature, but with Penelope, he came to rest, as she soothed his soul he could never do anything to hurt her. She had surprised him too, with her capacity to bounce back, with how strong she was, how trusting of him. It was humbling, and he loved her even more for it.

"Ready, baby girl?"

"As ready as I'll ever be, handsome." She turned around in his arms, wrapping her arms around his neck, kissing him tenderly. She was so thankful his kisses were so intoxicating, making her forget everything, because she hated to think of Lynch's touches on her. It wasn't _easy _to forget, but he had been so gentle, so patient, so loving in the six weeks since the team had rescued her, that the events in California were starting to stay away from her dreams.

Just then the doorbell rang, and they broke their kiss, smiling at each other, enjoying the last moment of intimacy before their friends would be there. Morgan reluctantly stepped away from his fiancee, and hurried when the doorbell rang a second time.

"I hope we weren't interrupting something!" Prentiss said with a look of despair on her face.

"About time! I thought we'd be standing here forever!" Rossi said at the same time.

"Guys, be nice!" JJ chided them gently, pushing them inside.

"Where are the others?" Morgan welcomed them, guiding them out onto the deck.

"Hotch was running late picking up Reid, Jack was a little sick this morning, and Will is coming after Henry's nap," JJ filled him in. "Why are you so anxious?"

"Anxious? What are you talking about?" Morgan composed himself, his face stoic again, but barely hiding a smile.

"You are so up to something, and seeing that smirk it can't be anything good," Rossi observed him closely.

"On the contrary Rossi, this afternoon will be_ really_ good," Morgan quipped, then turned away from his friends when the doorbell rang again.

"_Uh oh_," Prentiss mockingly rolled her eyes at his retreating back.

A minute later he came back with Hotch, Reid and a tired-looking Jack following closely.

"Where are you hiding Garcia, Morgan?" Prentiss asked him, taking a sip of her beer.

"She'll be out in a minute," he answered evasively, and went to answer the door again, this time for his mother and sisters. He hugged all three of them fiercely before bringing their luggage in and taking them to meet his friends outside. They had met before, but under a lot less favorable circumstances, so he was glad to be able to properly introduce them, especially Rossi who hadn't been with the team yet at the time Derek was arrested in Chicago.

"Derek, baby, when are we getting to meet your lovely Penelope?" his mother exclaimed, making him cringe a little and the team laugh at their resident tough guy being babied by his mom. He blushed a little, suddenly nervous. He had no doubt his family would absolutely _love_ his baby girl, but he was a little afraid of their reaction as to why he had really invited them here, so sudden...

"Yeah, _baby,_ where is my girl?" JJ mocked, breaking him from his thoughts. Fortunately he was saved by the bell one more time, and he hurried to open the door for Will and Henry, who made their small gathering complete. It was a beautiful, sunny afternoon and he was pleased to see his mother and sisters mingling with his team, enjoying the beach and each other's company. He quickly went back inside, up the stairs to their bedroom, embracing the love of his life.

"Get changed! I want to go outside finally!" she playfully berated him, brushing an imaginary crinkle out of her simple, dark green dress. To Morgan, she had never looked more beautiful. The tube form was hugging her in exactly the right places, and the shorter front revealed her legs he couldn't keep his eyes from. She was wearing flip-flops underneath, which he thought was adorably cute. Putting a curl back behind her ear, he cupped her face, looking her deep into the eyes.

"I want a kiss first," he begged, as if he was starved for her, when in reality it had barely been an hour since she had disappeared upstairs at the first ring of the doorbell, to prepare while their friends arrived.

"You are incorrigible," she pretended to be upset, but still kissed him for long minutes before finally turning him away. She didn't want anyone to come looking for them, yet, even though it took everything in her not to give in to his tantalizing kisses while he was shedding his clothes.

When he finally had changed into white linen pants, with a light green shirt matching her dress, her smile grew bigger than ever. He grabbed her hand, intertwining his fingers with her as they walked down the stairs, only to run into an agitated Prentiss who was looking for them.

"Oh finally, there you are! Aw, Morgan, you sap, you changed to fit your sweetie's dress," she laughed, they shook their head at her, until JJ appeared behind Prentiss in the hallway and squealed, understanding their plan immediately.

"Shhhh," Penelope told her, hugging her best girlfriend, Prentiss still not catching on to what was happening.

"Will you be my maid of honor?" Pen asked JJ quietly, all the blonde could do was nod vigorously and hug her friend again.

"What the hell?" Emily asked, but then finally she understood when she saw Garcia grab a small green and pink bouquet. In a second they were hugging too, until a knock on the door interrupted them. Morgan was quick to open the door, welcoming Judge Phillips with whom they had dealt several times for cases. The man had been very glad to oblige Morgan and Garcia after hearing of their recent troubles, and had willingly given up his free afternoon to come out to the beach.

Together, the small group made it to the back of the house, a grinning JJ and Emily in front. Morgan tightly gripped his baby girl's hand, he knew she was nervous finally meeting his mother, despite him reassuring him that she was already loved beyond anything, from all the stories he had told her over the years. His mother had been the first one to tell him he was in love with her, even before he had figured it out, she had been consoling him over the years Pen was with Lynch, always telling him it was not too late and he'd get his shot at true love sooner rather than later. It was thanks to her he hadn't given up, hadn't ran away far from Quantico, to get over his broken heart. If he was marrying Penelope today, it was for a large part thanks to his mother. Who would have his head for not informing her they were there for a wedding and not just to celebrate their safe return. In any case, he would find out real soon.

The minute he felt the sand under his bare feet he regained confidence though, being reminded exactly why he was here, and as much as he loved his family and his teammates, nothing could keep him from marrying the love of his life.

Judge Phillips stepped out in front of them, taking his position under a wedding arch set to the side, then, playing his role perfectly, scraped his throat and spoke loudly, full of authority as he was used to do.

"Please, may I have your attention."

Everyone turned around to see where the voice came from, all but Morgan's family recognized the judge, then looked at the beaming couple standing right behind him. Mouths dropped as understanding set in, and Morgan's mother rushed up to her son, slapping him on the arm but with a smile so huge nobody misunderstood her action for anger. Without wasting words on him, she hugged Penelope.

"I am so glad to finally meet you!" she exclaimed, easing back a little. The rest of the team and Morgan's sisters were looking at them, amused, Morgan visibly relieved.

"I'm so sorry we meet like this," Penelope said in a small voice, a little overwhelmed, "You must think we're crazy, and you hardly know me."

"Are you kidding me? I have been waiting for this moment since before Derek was born and I know you better than I know him, the way he never shuts up about you!" His mother then let her go, making a hand gesture shooing her back to Derek. "Go on, don't let me keep you!"

Everyone laughed as Derek and Penelope took place in front of the judge, who, at Mrs. Morgan's insistence, didn't waste any time with the ceremony. The team gathered around them too, JJ and Reid acting as witnesses.

They held each other's hand while listening intently to the judge, almost impatient. They both had written vows, but hadn't shared them with each other, to keep an element of surprise. The judge kept it short, but inspired and lighthearted, having witnessed Morgan and Garcia dance around each other on more than one occasion. It was with a twinkle in his eye he turned to Morgan for him to read his vows. Derek turned to face Penelope, lifting her hand to his mouth to kiss it before taking her other hand in his too. He swallowed hard, not nervous about declaring his love for her in public, but because he still couldn't believe he was doing this. Marrying her. Six months ago he had almost become a stranger to her, he almost lost her, he had been heartbroken and thought he missed his chance and one day he'd have to be brave and witness her getting married to Lynch. Yet now he was standing there, his heart whole, his life complete, their future ahead.

"Baby girl," he started with her most familiar nickname, drawing smiles from everyone, "When I called you my God-given Solace two years ago, I meant every word of it, and more. I meant that without you … without you I'm nothing. All these years, you've been the one who soothed my heart, calmed my fears, mended the broken pieces of me that made me angry. They used to drive me to do my job, now you are, because I want to make the world a better place for you to live in. You always see the good in everything and everyone, including and above all me, and I don't know how I ever deserved you, but I never want to let you go. I love you, Penelope Garcia."

Penelope – and most of the audience – had tears in their eyes at Morgan's heartfelt declaration. She had to wait a moment before she could answer, grinning at him.

"Handsome," she smiled, "I think you had me at 'baby girl'. I turned around, ready to make a snarky remark, and then I saw _you_, and I instantly knew you and I were meant to be. You became my noir hero, my knight in blood-caked armor, the one person I couldn't live without. You're the reason I still see the beauty in everything and everyone, because you believe in me. The day you let me into your heart, you showed me what love is all about, even though it took me quite some time to catch on to the fact I really was lucky enough for you to love me. I love you too, Derek Morgan."

They exchanged rings, and then finally the judge declared them husband and wife. They didn't even wait for him to finish his phrase before they kissed as if their life depended on it, as if starved for each other during the ceremony. They barely heard the applause, the cheers, and only broke apart when they needed air. Penelope blushed slightly when she realised everyone was looking at them, some smiling more dementedly than others. Judge Phillips congratulated them, followed by the rest of their friends.

=~==A Sorta Fairytale==~=

Penelope was happily chatting with Derek's sister Desiree and JJ, a beer in her hand, lazily enjoying the last rays of sun setting over the water. She was watching Derek who was in the middle of an animated discussion with his mom, Reid and Hotch.

"You really are smitten, aren't you?" Desiree happily asked, "You haven't left him out of your sight for a single second all afternoon."

Pen just sighed in response, a soft smile playing on her lips. She knew Derek couldn't keep his eyes off her either.

"You know, my mom wasn't even surprised we were here for your wedding," Desiree continued. "He has been talking so highly of you for the last seven years she was about to surprise YOU with your own wedding."

"He has?" Pen sounded genuinely surprised. She knew now Derek had been in love with her for about as long as she had been in love with him, but she didn't know anyone else actually knew. Then again, judging from the reaction of the team when they found out, everyone around them had understood how much they loved each other, and they were really the last ones to catch on.

"We kept telling him he needed to get his act together, but boy, was he blind. He kept saying you were his best friend, and we were telling him he was a fool. Mom even yelled at him once," she giggled, recalling the memory.

"Don't even get me started," JJ chipped in, "We had to work with those two lovestruck idiots for 6 years before they finally admitted to it, and they _didn't even tell us when it finally happened!_" She added dramatically, and they laughed.

"At least we got it right in the end, huh," Pen mused, leaning back on her deck chair, taking a sip of her beer. "Life's perfect like this."

"I'll drink to that," JJ added, lifting her own bottle, and Desiree joined them in their toast.

=~==A Sorta Fairytale==~=

It was well past midnight when the last guests were leaving. Fran Morgan, Desiree and Sarah were staying at one of Derek's properties, to give the newlywed couple some privacy, and they had left earlier with Rossi and Prentiss. Judge Phillips had excused himself in the late afternoon, and JJ and Will had taken Henry home after he woke up from a late evening nap. Hotch was trying to get Jack into the car without waking him up, while Reid lingered at the deck, taking a last picture with his cellphone of Morgan and Garcia kissing each other in the moonlight.

When Jack was finally strapped in his seat, still sleeping, Hotch came back over to say a last goodbye, and congratulate his team members. Reid hugged Garcia, and patted Morgan on the back, and then they were finally alone.

=~==A Sorta Fairytale==~=

"Hotch, can you drop me off on Opitz please?" Reid gestured towards a point a little further on their route.

"What? That's 30 minutes from your place and it's 4AM," the older man protested, nearly falling asleep behind the wheel. "How are you going to get home?" Then a realisation dawned.

"You're not..." he started, but he was interrupted.

"I'll grab a cab, and I plead the fifth," Reid was quick to answer.

Hotch just nodded, and pulled over, saying goodbye to his friend, then hurrying home before it would wake Jack up.

Reid made his way to the double doors guarding the night entrance of the hospital. Flashing his badge in a way he had perfected over the years, showing he was FBI but not revealing his name, he gained access and made his way up the stairs to the room which was no longer guarded by a police officer. It was not as if Lynch was going anywhere. He quickly entered the room, assuring himself nobody had seen him, and shook the man awake.

"Hey Kevin, wake up!"

"What?" the sleep drunk tetraplegic asked, confused by being wakened so sudden.

"You see this?" Reid asked, a small smile on his lips. "That's Morgan and Garcia just half an hour ago. They are spending their first night as a married couple _right now_." He flipped through to a picture from the ceremony, holding it up so Lynch could not look past it.

"Bastards," the wounded man hissed, visibly furious. "She can't do that to me! She's mine!"

Reid just shook his head, with a tight-lipped smile, amusement shining in his eyes. "Oh no, she's not, not at all. Bet you she's screaming out _Derek Morgan_'s name by now."

"Don't come near me again, or I am filing a complaint," Kevin growled, the machines surrounding him starting to beep furiously.

"I told you I'd keep you updated," Reid sneered, "and I wouldn't, if I were you. Who will believe you?"

With a smirk, he stood up and left the room and the hospital before someone could come see what all the agitation was about.

=~==A Sorta Fairytale==~=

"Finally alone," Morgan breathed against Garcia's neck, delicately licking his way up from the pulse point in her neck to her earlobe he drew into his mouth and gently sucked on. They were still standing on the deck, after saying goodbye to Hotch and Reid they hadn't even made it back inside before Morgan pulled her flush against him and started kissing her in earnest.

"Mm-mmhmm," was the most coherent answer she could muster, as she let her hands roam over his broad muscular chest, tugging at the buttons of his shirt. Morgan picked her up, and carried her over the threshold, making her giggle at his gesture, but his strong arms around her and the kisses on her face and neck he continued to tease her with quickly made her forget about everything else. The way she always responded to his touch, was pure magic, the slightest brush of his fingertips set her skin on fire and today she also reveled in the fact he was her _husband_ now. It would always be a bit surreal to her, that she finally had what she wanted all along.

Arrived in their bedroom, Derek gently let go of Penelope in front of the bed, pulling back so he could take a long look at her. To him, she seemed out of this world, so beautiful he couldn't get enough of simply drinking in the sight of her.

"My wife," he whispered at her, all of his love and admiration shining in his eyes. She stepped closer to him, pushing his shirt off his shoulders, tracing his muscles with her fingers. On any other day she could look at him for hours, but tonight she needed to touch, to make sure this wasn't all a dream and he'd be gone when she woke up.

"Yes, _husband_," she kissed against his chest, up his neck, biting and sucking on his sensitive flesh. With a growl, he snaked his arms around her, pulling her close, his mouth coming down on hers for an all devouring kiss. Then his lips went down her neck again, licking and suckling on his way towards her perfect cleavage. His fingers trailed the edge of her gown, pushed it down while his mouth followed on her freshly exposed skin.

Needing to feel her naked against him, he reached for the zipper on her dress, sliding it down her perfect frame until she stood clad only in her bra and panties. He lapped up the sight while she worked on his belt and trousers, removing them, making him groan when she stroked his erection through his boxers, softly squeezing him, making him grow even harder. He threw his head back, enjoying the feeling of her hands on him. He could never get enough of her hands, working her magic on him, enthralling him, making him lose his mind with a simple touch.

"Oh fuck," he moaned when she pushed his boxers down and grabbed his length into her palm, stroking him up and down, adding just the right amount of pressure to her touch; the sensation was almost too much after being hungry for her all day. Cupping her face in his hands, he eased away from her while catching her lips in another soul-searching kiss he couldn't get enough of, lowering her down on the bed until she was lying underneath him.

Derek pushed himself up on his elbows, looming over her. She looked at him with eyes so earnest, so full of love he couldn't help but feel humbled, and grateful he had her back in his life, that she trusted and loved him so much she let him love her despite everything Lynch had done to her.

"I love you," he told her throatily, leaning back so he was lying on his side next to her, bringing his hand to her lace-clad breasts, caressing her through her bra, massaging them, drawing little circles around her nipples before bringing his mouth down, latching on through the fabric still hiding her heavy, luscious tits from his feasting eyes.

With a flick of his wrist he undid the clasp of her bra, removing the offending garment and tossing it across the room. He made it no secret he loved her breasts, and would gladly take his time worshiping them, over and over again. Drawing one nipple into the warmth of his mouth, sucking, gently biting then soothing her with his tongue, he knew he was driving her crazy when she started moaning louder, arching her hips towards him, a sure sign she needed him. He started slowly rubbing her other nipple with his thumb, then moving his hand down over her ribcage to her stomach, trailing his finger on the edge of her panties.

He sat up, making her moan at the loss of touch, taking off her last piece of clothing in one fluid movement, shedding his boxers as well, never taking his eyes away from the Goddess waiting for him.

Joining her again on the bed, he kissed her hard, almost desperately, needing her as much as she needed him. Her hands were all over him, his neck, his back, pulling him as close to her as they could be, their bodies almost melding together. He squeezed her ass, pushing her into his throbbing erection, grinding against her, yearning to feel her wetness around him.

Parting her knees with his leg, he ran his finger up and down her slit, feeling her so hot, so wet for him, he gently drew her intimate lips apart, before plunging two fingers into her core, eliciting more moans from her. Stroking her, he moved his thumb up to circle her clit, making her buck into his hand, desperately trying to get closer to him. He slanted his mouth over hers, plunging his tongue inside of her, exploring every inch of her.

"God, Derek, I need you, now," she moaned, her breathing ragged, her ache for him almost unbearable. She needed the completion only he could give her, when he was buried deep inside of her, when he touched her soul with his intense lovemaking, saturating her, overwhelming all of her senses with his raw force and primal instincts took over.

He pressed harder on the bundle of nerves, before removing his fingers, making her gasp at the loss of contact. She was starting to protest when he sat up slightly, but she gasped again, this time in pleasure, when he replaced his fingers with his mouth, licking up and down her folds before bringing his thumbs back up, parting her lips to grant his tongue access, penetrating her as deeply as he could. Feeling her starting to shake, he circled his tongue around her clit, driving her crazy with his motions. Penelope was writhing underneath his touch, aching for release, when he sucked her clit into her mouth, at the same time pushing two fingers back into her center. Quickly pumping into her a few times, he felt her shudder, and she convulsed under his touch, everything went black as she cried out his name.

He was smiling tenderly at her when she came by again just short moments later, feeling his hands roam all over her body. He hovered over her, and she reached between them, wrapping her hand around his thick cock, stroking him with long, languid movements. Derek groaned, his control barely hanging on. She understood immediately what he wanted, needed, as she felt his desire reflected in herself, and she guided him to her entrance.

Slowly pushing himself inside of her to let her adjust to him, he filled her completely, staying there for a moment, amazed at how right she felt for him. He didn't know anymore where his body ended and hers started, they were joined and he let the feeling of her love wash over him for a long moment, almost overwhelming him while he cupped her face in his hands, resting on his forearms so he could look down at her, at the expression of pleasure on her face, the way she bit her kiss bruised lip in anticipation of making love, her mussed hair, and he leaned down to kiss her, almost reverently at first, then wild, giving into the feelings of lust and want taking over for him.

He felt her move underneath him, and soon he couldn't keep still. He started a familiar rhythm, with long, slow strokes alternated with shallow ones. She met him thrust for thrust, wrapping her legs around him, her arms around his neck, her hands roaming over his back, sinking her nails into his skin. He knew she'd leave scratch marks all and it would sting in the morning, but he didn't care. She felt too good, he was too consumed by how perfect she was for him, how their bodies moved in unison, as if they were made for each other, and he knew this was it, he'd found his soul mate and she was his for the rest of their lives, and if he had anything to say about it, far beyond too.

When he felt her starting to convulse underneath him, he completely lost the little control he still had and started pumping hard and fast, until he felt her tighten around him, her moans spelling out his name, sending him over the edge too with her name on his lips, barely more than a whisper, pulsing his release deep inside of her, his heart skipping a beat as the strength of his orgasm took his breath away.

He collapsed on top of her, nuzzling her neck, panting, nipping little pecks while she wrapped her arms around him, holding him close, completely satisfied.

"I love you too," she kissed his ear, sending a jolt through him, before they started drifting off to sleep in the same position. He rolled off her, pulling her into his arms, grabbing her tightly. He had her, there was no doubt about that, and he never wanted to let her go.

**A/N the first: Ack, tell me what you thought. I hope it wasn't as bad as a real first time ;) **

**A/N the second: There you have it, the end. I hope the trip was as enjoyable for you as it was for me, and I just wanted to express my gratitude for all the reviews (will I get to **_**two-freaking-hundred**_**?), the story/author alerts and favorites, all the encouragement here and on Twitter, I am seriously humbled. This was my first fanfic endeavour, I've been writing original fiction before but never this intense. As a warm welcome, this certainly counts! Thank you :) **


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